Parma Wallaby


In the Wild:

The Parma Wallaby is a shy creature and the smallest of the genus Macropus. At between 3.2 and 5.8kg, they weigh less than one-tenth the size of the largest surviving member of that genus, the red kangaroo. Typically solitary but may feed in groups of 2-3. It is mainly nocturnal, sheltering in thick shrub during the day, and emerging from cover shortly before dusk to graze in the forest clearings. Females usually produce one infant. The young become independent from the mother, permanently leaving the pouch at seven months of age.

Conservation Status:

Thought to be extinct, the Parma Wallaby was rediscovered on mainland Australia in 1967.

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Quick Facts

  • Lifespan: 6 - 8 years in wild, 11-15 years in captivity.
  • Distribution: Endemic to Australia, New South Wales, Feral population - Kawau Island New Zealand
  • Habitat: Wet sclerophyll forest, grassy with dense scrubby understory areas.

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...

  • I am writing on behalf of all at South Cambridgeshire Branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children to thank you for allowing our new group of children to visit Shepreth Wildlife Park yesterday.

    Our chaperones for the day said how helpful your staff were in every way and that they spent a lot of time with the children showing them how to handle the animals and playing interactive games with them.

    We really appreciate the fact that you have supported us every year for the last five years and twice this year, allowing both our summer group and autumn group to visit. In times of financial uncertainty it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to raise funds and so we really appreciate being able to not only come to the park and use all of your facilities, free of charge, but also that you provided lunch for the group, drinks and ice creams.

    The children also loved the gift bags you gave them.

    I visited Belarus in March to help select these children for our new programme and the situations they were all living in were very sad. This really special day and has given the children some lovely memories to take home with them. I know they will be looking forward to their visit next year.

    Once again, thank you all so much for your support.

  • I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for a wonderful experience that my family enjoyed yesterday at Shepreth.

    Despite the unfortunately changeable weather on Saturday my partner and I along with our 3 children (aged 3,6 and 9) had a most enjoyable day. There was so much to see, do, stroke, learn about, play on, etc that we didn’t want to leave!

    However the icing on the cake for all of us was when we went into Bug City where we met a charming and informative keeper who showed us some of the animals and answered lots of questions from my inquisitive 9 year old about spiders, lizards, snakes and scorpions.

    Please pass on our gratitude to all your friendly staff as it was so nice to take my family somewhere that catered for all ages and where the staff clearly are enjoying what they do and not forgetting all the animals that are so well looked after and cared about.

    Looking forward to visiting again when we can – please keep up the great work!

  • This was the third time that we have had the Shepreth outreach team visit us at school and it was an excellent visit as always.  The team arrived on time and set up quickly.  They had brought with them an excellent range of age appropriate animals and they were extremely knowledgeable and informative.  The session was very ‘hands on’ and the staff were sensitive to the needs of the group that they were working with, tailoring questions to suit.  The children all had a wonderful learning experience and were amazed by the animals, they were very excited by the opportunity to touch some extrelmely unusual species.  It was a wonderful afternoon, enjoyed by all, and we will definitely be booking again next year!

  • The education team are truly inspirational and clearly love the job they do. The children and adults all had a great time and will have many memories of the animals they had a chance to meet and handle. Thank you so much for taking the time to incorporate polar bear into your session as this helped to make it a more purposeful session for the children. Seeing their faces when they saw the pictures from our story on your board was priceless! The children loved seeing all the animals around the park and I wish you had been there to see them ask ALL the animals “Do you want to be friends with Polar Bear” and when the animals ran off the children said ” We will take that as a no then”. We look forward to coming back in the future.

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