30-04-2025
Mountain rescue experts join search for escaped wallaby in Dumfries and Galloway
Mountain rescue experts have been helping in the ongoing search to find an escaped wallaby
Little Wallace has been missing since he got out of his enclosure from Crazy Critters Experience at Johnstonebridge on Friday night.
A huge search of the surrounding countryside has taken place, with drones helping to scour the area.
However, the three-year-old Parma wallaby has still to be found.
On Tuesday, Galloway Mountain Rescue Team's drone pilots were called out to help with the search.
In a Facebook post, they said: 'Despite the best efforts of our pilots, equipped with state of the art drones and thermal imaging, there's been no sign of him yet.
'If you're in the area, please keep an eye out and report any sightings to Crazy Critters.'
It is believed Wallace was frightened by dogs on Friday night, causing him to escape. The little animal hurt himself in the process.
Wallace was rejected by his mum and is thought to be the only Parma wallaby ever to be hand-reared.
The small marsupial native to forests and densely-vegetated areas of northeastern New South Wales, Australia.
They are described as being 'about the size of a stout cat' and live mainly under thick plant cover in the wild, only active at night when they emerge to feed on grasses and small plants.
They are so shy and elusive, Parma wallabies were thought to be extinct until their rediscovery in the 1960s.
