Red necked wallaby

Wallabies, like their close relative the kangaroo, have long tails for balance as well as large feet and strong legs for jumping great distances. As its name would suggest, the red necked wallaby is recognizable by a distinctive patch of reddish fur around its neck and shoulders.

All wallabies are marsupials, which means they have a pouch for rearing their young. Wallaby young are born tiny and undeveloped. They immediately crawl into their mothers’ pouches where they continue to develop after birth—usually for a couple of months. Even after a ‘joey’ leaves the pouch, it will often return to its mother to jump back in if it spots danger.

In the 1970’s, concern for the conservation of the wallaby sparked a wave of laws to protect them. Though numbers are now relatively secure, large numbers are still killed illegally each year