A Short Note on Wallabies

When they’re in a hurry, they hop, using only their back legs, but when they’re just kind of nosing around or maybe feeling a little cautious (as the ones I saw crossing a country road seemed to be), they use their front legs as well. As amusing as it is to see a mob of wallabies hopping across a field, it is just as funny to watch one hump along on all fours. This is how it looked to me: the wallaby plants her front legs (which are kind of short), then swings her (very long) back legs, in unison, past her front paws, hunching up her back. Now she’s in position to again plant her front paws forward and swing her back legs up. All of this is, I’m sure, aided by her very large and sturdy tail, but I didn’t actually notice what was going on with the tails because I was so delighted by the leg action!