Wallaby confiscated from man on Coney Island boardwalk relocated to Long Island's STAR Foundation rehab center

The wallaby confiscated from a man who was carrying it on the Coney Island boardwalk is doing well at a Long Island animal wildlife rehabilitation center, according to the facility's director.

“She is in excellent condition,” Lori Ketcham, director of the STAR Foundation in Middle Island, said Sunday. “She’s very well adjusted. She was a little nervous at first.”

Ketcham said the marsupial is probably 9 months to 1 year old. Wallabies are carried in their mother’s pouches until they are about 6 months old, she said. They are illegal to own in New York City.

NYPD officers took the wallaby from a man who had been seen carrying it in a pouch along the Coney Island boardwalk in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.

John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, said he believes the same man was seen previously carrying the wallaby around Washington Square Park in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, charging people to hold it and take photos. He contacted the NYPD Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad after a supporter of his organization spotted the man in the park and sent him the information.

When another person saw the man on the Coney Island boardwalk on Saturday, Di Leonardo passed the information to the NYPD. Officers went to the boardwalk, confiscated the animal and ticketed the man. The wallaby was brought to Animal Care Centers of NYC, where Di Leonardo was able to help place it with the STAR Foundation.

Wild and exotic animals have been found in the streets and residences of New York City for many years, including a full-grown tiger in a Harlem apartment in 2003. And in 2019, the Bronx Zoo agreed to take in a wallaby that was brought to ACC by a city resident who said she received it as a gift.

Wild animals are not pets or props, Di Leonardo said and praised the NYPD for its quick response.

“This young joey belongs with his mother in the wilds of Australia, not being exploited for money in a cramped bag on the Coney Island boardwalk,” he said. “These animals suffer greatly in captivity where their needs can't be met. But the STAR Foundation is equipped and experienced with these animals, and he's going to live a much more naturalistic life now.”

Ketcham said she is taking care of the young wallaby for the ACC while the owner’s case moves through the courts. If there is an opportunity to keep it, they will raise funds to build a large enclosure and offer it a life filled with enrichment.

The nonprofit has experience helping injured and orphaned wildlife as well as exotic animals.

“We don’t drag out animals around and take pictures with them, but we do keep them busy,” Ketcham said. “We make sure that they have lots of space and lots of toys and good food.”

“Right now she’s getting a lot of love and attention,” she added. “We are keeping her visitors to a minimum so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.