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| Common Name: | Swamp wallaby | Family: | Macropodidae |
| Latin Name: | Wallabia bicolor | Diet: | Herbivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Woodlands |
| Native To: | Australasia | Social Unit: | Individual |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Endangered |
Swamp wallabies at Edinburgh Zoo
Here at Edinburgh Zoo we have four swamp wallabies. Our adult male was born in June 2005 and came to us in June 2008 from Belgium. He is called Barega, which is Aboriginal for "wind." Two adult females named Darri, born June 2006, and Koorie, born March 2007, arrived from Zurich in June 2009. At that same time we also received one male joey named Jarrah, born June 2008. Edinburgh Zoo is only the second zoo in Britain to feature swamp wallabies.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Our swamp wallabies can be found in the same enclosure as our Stanley’s cranes, just up the hill from the Zoo entrance.
Swamp wallabies in the wild
The swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) is native to eastern Australia, where it ranges from Cape York, Queensland in the north, to Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Despite their name, swamp wallabies live in forests, scrublands and woodlands with thick undergrowth.
Swamp wallabies resemble kangaroos, but are smaller and have longer fur. Males are larger and heavier than females, while the tail on both sexes is the same length as the body. Their fur is mostly brown, with a lighter chest and a light stripe on each cheek.
Swamp wallabies have a mixed diet feeding on bushes, ferns, flowers, grasses, herbs, plants, shrubs and tree saplings. They can be found grazing in pasture, agricultural crops, and exotic tree plantations. Their molars are specially shaped to help cut through the coarse, thick vegetation of their diet.
Breeding programme category: ESB
IUCN Red List category: Least Concern
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