RSPCA hunt for missing WALLABY in Lincolnshire countryside after it escaped from petting farm and dodged THREE attempts to catch him
- Ant the wallaby vanished from Tiny Steps Petting Farm in Thurlby, Lincolnshire
- Seven-month-old escaped his enclosure on January 5, where he lives with Dec
- Since then, keepers have repeatedly tried to catch him – with just one success
- He was caught in a cage on January 15 but managed to open the door and flee
The RSPCA is on the hunt for a missing wallaby who escaped from a Lincolnshire zoo and dodged three attempts to catch him – only to give keepers the slip again.
Seven-month-old Ant was reported missing from his enclosure in Tiny Steps Petting Farm in Thurlby on Wednesday, January 5, in the south Kesteven area of Lincolnshire.
He left behind his fellow wallaby Dec, who was found alone in their shared pen.
Since his escape, Ant has been seen hopping around the area The Stamford Mercury reports.
Keepers have put out feeding stations in an effort to entrap Ant, but he has proven to be a hard catch.
On Sunday morning, staff at the farm checked a trap and found Ant inside eating the food which had been left to lure him in.
Ant the seven-month-old wallaby escaped from Tiny Steps Petting Zoo on January 5 and has given keepers the run around ever since
Two RSPCA inspectors arrived to give assistance and keepers lifted the trap with Ant inside, covering it with a blanket.
But the clever wallaby managed to open the trap’s door and hopped away from the rescue mission.
Volunteer Bret Whitcombe told the BBC how Ant managed to escape his trap on Sunday morning.
He said: ‘We managed to get him out of the wooded area he was in just in time for him to kick and break the trap, so he’s now on the loose again,’ he said.
‘He’s causing us lots of problems, bless him.’
Tiny Steps released this image of Ant as they keep the public updated about their efforts to humanely catch him and bring him safely home
Tracey Hall, owner of Tiny Steps Petting Farm, posted on Facebook: ‘Words can’t adequately describe the frustration and upset at this happening.
‘The trap is made for dogs, foxes and other UK mammals, none of which are even half as strong as a wallaby.
‘The metal grille door was almost bent double. As you can imagine, there isn’t too much call in the UK for a wallaby trap.’
Tiny Steps Petting Farm are continuing with their efforts to entrap Ant safely and have advised the public not to chase him, as wallabies are highly stressed animals.
Darts and tranquilisers have also been ruled out as potentially dangerous due to the length of time before they take effect.