Walter the Wallaby

Pine Cove’s Outdoor Education program, called the Institute of Wilderness Studies (IWS) in Central Texas already has a great variety of reptiles and other critters to offer students during their time at camp. But recently a new creature has been added, and he hails from Down Under! His name is Walter, and he’s a 10-month-old wallaby from Australia!

“What’s a wallaby?” you might ask. A wallaby is a marsupial that looks very similar to a kangaroo, except much smaller. Wallabies originate from the Australian Outback, so Walter’s new home at the Pine Cove Outback is quite appropriate!          

Currently, Walter is one foot tall and weighs five pounds. Even as a fully grown adult, he will probably only grow to be about knee-high to a human. But what he lacks in height, Walter makes up for in jumping ability. Though he is still young, he can still jump in and out of a fleece pouch. This pouch is meant to simulate a mother wallaby’s pouch.

Walter is bottle-fed three times a day. If he eats all of his hay and pellets, he will eventually weigh a healthy 20 to 30 pounds!

IWS Central Texas Site Director Anna Ehler explains, “We wanted to make a move to get a larger animal so that students could interact with an animal more up-close when they visit the Critter Room at IWS. Hopefully, Walter will provide an experience students would never get outside of camp and an opportunity to learn from such a unique animal.”

Anna also shared that when Walter jumps out of his fleece pouch, he can clear up to three feet in the air!

Learn more about IWS here!