There's a Wallaby in the lobby! (copy 1)
There's a Wallaby in the lobby!
By Cassandra Pulver
Published Friday 10 July 2015
Probably the only wild wallaby in the world with her own hashtag #AppletheWallaby. And she certainly is not camera shy.
A young female wallaby in tropical north Queensland is probably the only wild wallaby in the world with her own hashtag. Given the name Apple by a young guest staying at Thala Beach Nature Reserve, she's certainly the only one that calls Port Douglas home.
Not content with making popular red carpet appearances on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, #AppletheWallaby also has a couple of You Tube video clips under her belt. Naturally, like any self-respecting social media star, she also has her own web page.
Despite the demands of looming motherhood (she has a joey developing in her pouch), Apple makes multiple unscheduled daily appearances in Thala's open sided lobby. She's a natural crowd pleaser, gently bounding across the slate floor, pausing to preen and pose for guests and their cameras.
Apples nostrils twitch as she checks out the strange human aromas, her curiosity apparent. As she inches in close, her dark eyes shaded by lashes the envy of women worldwide, she rests her forepaw on a guest's knee in a marsupial version of a handshake.
One of approximately 50 wild agile wallabies that inhabit Thala Beach Nature Reserve, a team of onsite Rangers keep an eye on Apple along with other wildlife that come and go through the seasons. Head Ranger Brett Kelly has been with Thala since its inception in the 1990ís. A dedicated naturist just like Thala's owners Robert and Oonagh Prettejohn, Brett has a soft spot for the reserve's wild inhabitants.
"It's hard to say exactly how many wallabies inhabit Thala's forest as there are no fences and wallabies will roam wherever food and water can be found," says Brett.
"We guess that there are around 50 species of agile and swamp wallabies, but really canít be certain. Recently we've seen a number of joeys so we do know that the population is healthy and growing."