Wallabia bicolor

Swamp Wallaby at Hackett, ACT

Wallabia bicolor at Hackett, ACT - 25 Oct 2019
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Identification history

Wallabia bicolor 30 Oct 2019 Shell.S.
Unidentified 30 Oct 2019 Louisab

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User's notes

During middle of day on a very windy day. Feeding in our front garden a few metres from house.

6 comments

Shell.S. wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
Hi Louisa
Thank you very much for these images of a Swamp Wallaby.
It appears from your photos that he is blind in his left eye (it is very cloudy). Does he have a right eye at all? It appears it may be missing.
We have had a few sightings of blind 'Swampies' come through, including one old fellow with one eye missing altogether. We are interested in how common blindness may be.
Any of your observations would be much appreciated.
Regards, Shelley
Louisab wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
Hi Shelley
Thanks for confirming the ID. I have a short (25MB) MP4 file of the wallaby. The jpg I uploaded was grabbed from the MP4 file. https://www.dropbox.com/s/5pwc8kt9fpcohpi/P1010048.MP4?dl=0 is a link to the video. you get to glimpse the other eye.
Shell.S. wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
Hi Louisa
I'm still seeing mostly a very dark area, but I think I see a glimpse of a cloudy eye. Is that what you see also?
Louisab wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
when I step through the video frame by frame I think I see a healthy looking right eye but its mainly obscured by leaves and I'm no expert. plus bad eyesight makes sense that he did not get spooked by people and dogs looking at him from the bedroom window!
Shell.S. wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
If you see him again, Louisa, could you please try to get a picture side to double-check the eye? He may not be moving far, and if he sees your garden as a place of food and safety he may be back.
As you said, he may have been unaware of his audience. If you go outside, his olfactory and auditory senses may tell him better.
Thanks again for sharing, and please be in touch if you catch up with him again.
Cheers, Shelley
Louisab wrote:
   31 Oct 2019
will do

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 - 3 Abundance
  • 25 Oct 2019 12:51 PM Recorded on
  • Louisab Recorded by

Species information

  • Wallabia bicolor Scientific name
  • Swamp Wallaby Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-Invasive
  • Up to 1338.8m Recorded at altitude
  • 353 images trained Machine learning

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  • More than one media file
  • Confirmed by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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  • Description
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