Hampshire’s Marwell Zoo has unveiled a new £30,000 enclosure for its red-necked wallabies this week.
The immersive home, located between the red panda enclosure and Cold Blooded Corner, will allow visitors to explore a small creek, pool, stream, and pond, all of which have been designed by expert keepers.
The project involved team members moving 250 tonnes of soil, 80 tonnes of rock and gravel, as well as 40 tonnes of sand, mostly unaided by machinery because of the wetness of the enclosure.
According to Helen Murphy, Marwell Zoo’s Plants and Landscapes Supervisor:
Following our return from lockdown and furlough, with a much reduced landscapes team, our colleagues across the zoo – even our chief executive James Cretney, mucked in with their gardening gloves, shovels and wheelbarrows.
Red-necked wallabies can be found in the wild in Australia, particularly along coastlines. Due to the adaptability of the species and lack of natural predators, they are on the lowest level of conservation concern.
