The BRUSH-TAILED ROCK-WALLABY

OLD MATEY

Old Matey is a brush-tailed rock wallaby who lives in the rocky gorge that runs through Secret Gully. This spot suits Rock-Wallabies because it has many desirable features. Firstly there is plenty of exposed rocky areas that receive lots of sunlight for staying warm in winter. Then there are many little rocky caves among the tumbled boulders where they can shelter and look out over the gorge for safety reasons. Either side of the gorge is sclerophyll forest which is not very dense and allows plenty of rich grasses and tasty shrubs to grow on the forest floor.

Rock-Wallabies are very fast in rocky places. They can hold their tails up over their back for balance and can leap up almost vertical cliff walls. They are only small, standing about half a metre high. They can swim if they have to. We've seen Old Matey swim over to a hidden part of a large rock pool and lie in the water for a long time to stay hidden from a hunting dingo. It was winter time and the water was very cold. After the dingo had gone the little wallaby stood shivering in the weak afternoon sunlight for a long time trying to dry off and warm up.

Old Matey is easily startled and usually races away, but because he lives near humans, he has got used to people a little. At night he even jumps up on the roof of the house and thumps noisily from one side of the roof to the other.

Brush-Tailed Rock-Wallabies are no longer found in many of the rocky areas where they used to live. They need rocky gorge type of habitat, but unfortunately human settlement has caused much of their habitat to become unsafe and deserted. They are considered to be endangered.