The owners of a missing 6-year-old wallaby say they are “overjoyed” to be reunited with their beloved pet after she spent nearly three days on the lam in Metro Vancouver.
The wallaby – who CTV News has learned is named Gracie - escaped from her Langley home sometime Wednesday night. RCMP issued an alert to the public to keep an eye out for the missing marsupial 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The wallaby managed to elude officials and her owners for several days - until a woman drinking coffee on her deck early Saturday morning spotted Gracie in her backyard.
The Langley resident was unaware a wallaby was on the lam in the area, and called animal services.
A pre-recorded message said to call the RCMP in case of emergency, but she hesitated, thinking police would be skeptical an Australian marsupial was in her yard.
The woman’s daughter encouraged her to call it in, however, saying she heard about the missing wallaby on the news.
While the family waited for Mounties they locked the gate of the six-foot tall fence to keep Gracie safe.
The owners say police phoned them just after 8:30 a.m., noting they were thrilled to collect their adventurous pet.
Native to Australia, wallabies are in the same family as kangaroos but typically only grow to a height of between 30 and 100 centimetres, while kangaroos can reach as tall as two metres.
It is legal to own a pet wallaby in British Columbia, as they are not on the province's list of 1,000 Controlled Alien Species.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
