A daring wallaby that escaped from a New Jersey animal sanctuary and went on the run has been returned home safely after being found outside a local Walmart.
The audacious marsupial, named Rex, escaped from a barn at the Lots of Love Farm in Williamstown Monday night after a gate was left unlatched.
Officers from the Monroe Township Police Department assisted in the search, with members of the public advised to be on the look out.
A detailed description of Rex was provided to the officers, though poor weather conditions prevented the use of a drone to boost efforts to find him.
A sighting of Rex was reported at around 9:05 p.m. Tuesday when he narrowly avoided being hit by a vehicle.
He was later spotted one mile from the sanctuary in the parking lot of a Walmart by a mother and daughter, who called the sanctuary, and he was successfully recaptured.
“Well, if this didn’t become the best night ever!” Lots of Love Farm wrote, in a post celebrating Rex’s safe return Tuesday night.
“With the help of some really cool kids and a really cool dad we caught Rex at the Walmart! He is home safe and sound! Thank you everyone, you’re all amazing. He must really like Walmart.”
In a separate post the MTPD acknowledged that their efforts had been bested by citizen sleuths.
Native to Australia, wallabies are a mid-size member of the kangaroo family.
“Thanks to our local media, our officers are nationally recognized horse wranglers… but unfortunately, we haven’t quite earned the title of Wallaby Whisperers,” the police department wrote.
“We tried to assist last evening but were of little help… Rex is quick!”
In a New Year’s Eve post, Lots of Love Farm said that it had decided to give Rex a rest for a couple of days, but said he would be returning to public view from Friday.
A welcome home part for Rex is also scheduled for this coming weekend.
