A wallaby that escaped from a New Jersey animal sanctuary was found by a family at a Walmart and returned safe and sound to its proper enclosure.
Rex, a male wallaby, slipped out of his enclosure Monday at Lots of Love Farm in Williamstown, about 24 miles southeast of Philadelphia, the animal sanctuary posted on Facebook.
Several people searched for the marsupial, related to kangaroos, over the course of Tuesday before Rex was found.
Ron Layden, owner of the petting zoo and animal sanctuary, told news website South Jersey Media that “since it was so cold, I brought him in the barn. I made a little cage in the barn for him, and somehow it didn’t get locked.”
“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,” Lots of Love Farm posted in an all-caps update on Facebook. The sanctuary did not name the kids or dad who helped them.
“They were like, ’Were you out looking for the wallaby?’ and we’re like, ’Yeah, he’s right here.’ They had a net in their car, but the owner was afraid that the wallaby would get scared, so the owner got food out of his pocket. They were able to catch it by its tail and hold onto it,” witness Michelle Evangelista said to WPVI-TV, describing the young men who helped secure Rex.
Lots of Love Farm is about a half mile from the Walmart.
The facility was closed Wednesday and Thursday, and will reopen Friday and over the weekend for Rex’s “welcome home party,” Lots of Love Farm said.
