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YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WPMT) — People living in York County see the occasional deer, squirrels, sometimes a bear, but they’re not accustomed to spotting a wallaby on the run.
A few residents spotted one hopping in their backyard off Wise Road in Chanceford Township.
The Cunninghams had never seen a wallaby in their area until Monday night, when a neighbor’s wallaby escaped and came hopping along onto their grass.
A wallaby is a marsupial or a pouched animal, according to National Geographic.
“You do question your mentality, wonder if you’re seeing things. Wonder if you should go back to bed, crawl out the other side,” said Sherry Cunningham.
It wasn’t Sherry Cunningham who spotted it but her daughter, Kala.
“Oh, good lord! My daughter was in the kitchen, and at the time, we thought we saw a kangaroo,” explained Cunningham.
“She yelled off all of a sudden, ‘Dad!’ There’s a kangaroo in the yard, and I said, ‘What!’ I didn’t believe her so I came in the kitchen and turned the kitchen light on, and looked out through the kitchen window, and sure enough, it was sitting out here by the loader I have,” explained Mike Cunningham.
It’s not actually a kangaroo though, rather a 3-year-old wallaby named Rocko, according to Kala.
Kala posted the video on Facebook, catching the owner’s attention.
“That’s when we found out it wasn’t a kangaroo. It was actually a wallaby, and the owners did get in touch with us,” explained Cunningham.
Now, all that’s left to do is catch the marsupial and return it to its rightful owner.
“I just hope we can catch him. If not us, somebody else, get him back home. I don’t know much about wallabies, but I don’t imagine they’re used to this kind of environment,” stated Cunningham.
Wallabies are native to Australia, a far cry from Central Pennsyvlania. The small to medium sized mammals eat plants, but Kala is told this wallaby also munches on popcorn and chips.
It’s clearly not your typical wallaby, and this sighting, definitely not the norm for residents in Chanceford Township.
“You’re used to watching for deer, especially driving at night, but now you have to watch for wallabies. It’s really weird,” added Cunningham.
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