The first rule when entering the Walkabout—one of Global Wildlife Center’s newest up-close-and-personal animal encounter experiences soft-opening on Mother's Day—is not to run (that’s why it’s called a walkabout, after all). Here, the kangaroos are kings, and we’re their humble subjects—eager for a rare glimpse of these royals in a habitat as natural as any you’re likely to find outside of Down Under.
These amicable Australian marsupials can be found lounging in a breezy meadow near the Visitor Center, where they’re often to be found hunkered down in large dirt holes (their preferred resting place), or playing polite neighbors to the capybaras with which they share the premises. After passing through two sets of gates bookending a bridge that juts out from the boardwalk near the center’s butterfly garden, guests can stroll along a wide roped path to observe the ‘roos in their grassy enclosure on either side. They don’t have to do much to be riveting; stepping into the walkabout feels like entering a wild world of childlike wonder.
The red kangaroos sunning themselves sedately at the center’s walkabout are members of the world’s largest kangaroo species, and Global Wildlife has around thirty on site. Males—known, fittingly, as “boomers”—are a darker red, while females—”flyers”—are more gray in color. And then there are the babies—known as “joeys”—practicing their first, tentative hops across the landscape. One joey is an eight-month-old female named Popcorn—though at the time of writing she was still getting the VIP treatment as a bottle-fed baby. Visit Global Wildlife Center in the spring and summer months and you might spot a staff member ferrying Popcorn around in a special sling, bundled up comfortably like a human newborn, and occasionally descending from her cozy carrier to practice her (very small) leaps.
The Walkabout, Global Wildlife Center's newest animal encounter experience, opens to the public in May.
At the heart of the walkabout are benches—prime real estate for kangaroo-watching—and a nearby water feature. Along with the kangaroos hopping or resting, you may glimpse a joey peering from its mother’s pouch, poking out a furless head to get a bit of sunlight. For the uninitiated, kangaroos give birth to an incompletely developed baby, which finishes its development in its mother’s pouch. A mundane sight in Australia, perhaps, but here, a thrilling thing.
To book tours, meet the animals, or join Global Wildlife Center’s email list to stay up to date when new attractions—like the Walkabout—open to the public, visit globalwildlife.com.
