WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J. (WPVI) — A woman running a simple errand ended up capturing an unexpected sight on video when a wallaby hopped in front of her car in a Walmart parking lot in Williamstown, New Jersey.
“I was just picking up milk for my little brother. My mom sent me here,” said Klarissa Harper of Franklinville. “And I’m leaving the parking lot, and I look over, and something’s hopping in front of my car.”
Harper said she grabbed her phone immediately, thinking she must be seeing things.
“I couldn’t contain my excitement for this whatever – like it’s a kangaroo,” she said.
It wasn’t a kangaroo, but a wallaby – a three-year-old named Rex, who escaped from Lots of Love Farm, a petting zoo and animal sanctuary located about a half-mile away.
“Everybody sees a goat. Not too many people see a wallaby,” said owner Ron Layden.
Layden said Rex had been moved to a different enclosure because of the cold, but “the cage didn’t get all the way shut.”
He later received a call that someone had spotted Rex heading toward an Applebee’s restaurant.
Rex is about three feet tall, gray-coated and “very friendly,” according to Layden, who hopes the animal has found a safe place to hide.
“I’m worried he’ll get hit by a car. That’s my biggest worry,” he said.
“If somebody sees him, don’t chase him. Just try to stay where he is,” added Layden.
As for how he plans to retrieve the wayward wallaby, Layden said, “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. He’s pretty friendly. He’s used to me, so maybe I’ll walk right up to him.”
Layden said there was a sighting on Tuesday in a neighborhood across from the farm, and staff may use a drone to search the area.
Anyone who spots Rex is asked to contact Lots of Love Farm immediately.
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