Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies Have Landed at Prospect Park Zoo

By Fran Hackett

Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Zoo recently “rocked the house” with a trio of new yellow footed rock wallabies in the Australian Walkabout on Discovery Trail. The new wallabies share their home with Western great grey kangaroos, Bennett’s wallabies, a Cape Barren goose and a pair of emu, giant flightless birds. The male rock wallaby, “Darwin,” hails from Lowry Park Zoo in Florida while the two females, “Sydney” and “Adelaide,” came all the way from the Adelaide Zoo in Australia.

Rock wallabies live in rocky outcroppings in South Australia and New South Wales. Their extra large hind feet have been compared to off-road tires on a car, they have extra padding and bumps for traction which helps rock wallabies jump across rock faces. Rock wallabies can jump more than twice their height but can make truly spectacular leaps by “cannoning” off upright surfaces, achieving distances of up to 16 feet.

Visit today and Rock On with the wallabies.

Prospect Park Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for seniors 65 and older, $3 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Prospect Park Zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. For further information, call 718-399-7339 or visit www.prospectparkzoo.com .

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

Photo by Julie Larsen Maher © WCS taken on 10/28/09

To view Prospect Park Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-199-Prospect_Park_Zoo