After creating quite a buzz in Mount Zion, an escaped wallaby has been captured safely by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
PennLive reported that the wallaby was caught by game wardens at around 11 a.m. Wednesday after being tranquilized, and is now being held temporarily at a wildlife facility.
This followed an unsuccessful attempt by the Game Commission to capture the wallaby Tuesday, according to the Daily Voice.
A wallaby is a marsupial, similar in appearance to a small kangaroo. Needless to say, the wallaby found in Lebanon County was not native to the area, as Bennett’s wallabies (the species name) are native to Australia. They are also illegal to own without a permit, as they are considered to be an exotic animal.
The first reported sighting of the wallaby was on Aug. 8 near the Mount Zion Fire Hall, posted in the community Facebook page Lebanon, PA Happenings. Since then, that page has crowdsourced photos, videos, and encounter stories of the wallaby.
As of now, the original owner or owners of the wallaby is unclear, though more details may come to light soon. In a similar 2012 case of an escaped wallaby, the Game Commission ruled that it was illegally in Pennsylvania, as only a “handful of folks” in the commonwealth have permits to own the marsupial, and none of those people had reported their wallabies missing.
An LDN article (paywall) reports that no one has reported an escaped wallaby and the Game Commission is continuing its investigation to determine its owner.
If it is found to have been housed in an unlicensed facility, the facility may receive fines and/or citations for ownership of an exotic animal without a permit. No such permits have been issued to anyone in the Mount Zion area, multiple sources reported.
Anyone with information on the wallaby’s origin has been asked to call the Game Commission at (610) 926-3136.
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