Two Wallabies to Join S.B. Zoo’s ‘Australian Walkabout’ Exhibit
The Australian Walkabout Exhibit Is Set to Open January 2022
The Santa Barbara Zoo announced Monday that two Bennett’s wallabies will be coming soon to join the new Australian Walkabout exhibit, expected to open in January 2022.
The first wallabies to ever live at the Santa Barbara Zoo are both two-year-old females that came together from Trevor Zoo in New York. Two male wallabies will also arrive soon and eventually join the females, with a breeding recommendation as part of the Species Survival Plan from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Bennett’s wallabies are medium-sized marsupials found along the eastern coast of Australia and on the island of Tasmania. Their native habitat ranges from eucalyptus forests to open areas adjacent to forests, and their diet consists mostly of grasses, herbs, and leaves.
The wallabies are set to join the zoo’s upcoming Australian Walkabout, a 15,000-square-foot exhibit designed to re-create the natural wonders of Australia by including the continent’s most iconic creatures, such as emus, kangaroos, and wallabies.
“We are thrilled to welcome the first wallabies to the Santa Barbara Zoo and are happy to see that they are adjusting well so far,” said Dr. Julie Barnes, the Zoo’s Vice President of Animal Care & Health. “We are really looking forward to sharing the new habitat and its unique Australian animals with our guests very soon.”
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