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New Jersey authorities are using drones to search for a runaway wallaby who hopped his way off an animal farm in Gloucester County on Monday night.
Rex, a 3-year-old wallaby, wandered away from the Lots of Love Farm in Williamstown after a gate was allegedly left unlatched overnight.
The missing marsupial was later spotted in a Walmart parking lot nearly five miles from the farm Tuesday morning.
Sue Layden, who owns the animal sanctuary with her husband, told Fox News Digital they have had Rex for a few years and he “loves people,” along with romaine lettuce.
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She described him as a “miniature kangaroo,” noting he can leap nearly 10 feet in a single bound and reach speeds up to 35 miles an hour.
“They get hoppin’,” Layden said. “In the wild, they are prey animals, they don’t really have any real defense, so their first instinct is to run. That’s what puts him in that frame of mind. He’s not like that here, but strangers screaming ‘Oh my god!’ might.”
Wallabies are small to medium-sized marsupials similar to kangaroos, native to Australia and nearby islands.
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Layden added the farm believes Rex will return home, since he is well socialized with humans.
“He got out [and went] right through the woods. I don’t think he really wants to leave home,” she said. “People who visit [the farm] pet him and love on him, so he likes it here. … I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that he’s staying around, because if he just gets close enough and comes in, we have his pen open waiting for him.”
While Layden acknowledged Rex is “adorable,” describing him as a stuffed animal with a marsupial personality, she said that is not always the case.
“In the wild, if you corner them, they attack,” Layden said. “You get a slap-down kind of thing.”
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A drone pet locating company is helping with the search, and Layden emphasized the community should not try to chase him.
“We have had a couple of pretty good tips, so we are checking all of that out,” she said.
