Two orphan wallaby joeys have enjoyed a play date to help them boost their social skills. Aussie Ark’s ‘Rocket’, a Brush-Tailed Rock wallaby, and the Australian Reptile Park's ‘Matilda’, the Yellow-Footed Rock wallaby have been hand-raised at the parks. As hand-raising joeys is an intensive process, it's crucial for their social development that they interact with their own kind.
To allow the rescued joeys to learn the skills on how to be a part of a mob, staff decided to arrange a special “play date” for the two joeys. At the beginning of the play date, both joeys were hesitant of interacting with each other but after a few minutes they began to warm up to each other’s company and shared their first little hops together.
After a short while of hopping around, both joeys sat down for “lunch” and enjoyed a warm bottle of milk together. The pair had a rocky start to life, with Rocket unfortunately becoming an orphan at 5.5 months old and Matilda being rescued after her mother could no longer carry her due to a prolapsed pouch.
“By allowing these joeys to engage in supervised playtime, we are providing them with the best possible start in life." said Aussie Ark Operations Manager Dean Reid.