The Loved-Up Wombat and Wallaby At Sydney Zoo Is The Valentine’s Day Story We Need
Sure, love is dead and Valentine’s Day is a consumerist death trap. But just try telling that to Swampy and Romper at Sydney Zoo.
To catch you up, Swampy is a swamp wallaby. Romper is a wombat. They both live at the expansive new zoo in Western Sydney, which opened to great fanfare last December.
Now, these two species aren’t known for their close bond. But, like the protagonists of any great love story, Swampy and Romper are breaking the bonds of expectation.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Swampy and Romper have been caught on camera sharing the wombat’s quarters after dark. This is quite unusual, as these animals usually stick close to their own kind – but love is love.
“We first noticed the strange infatuation between Swampy and Romper a couple of weeks ago,” says Sydney Zoo keeper Tara. “At night the swamp wallaby has been leaving her other friends to spend the night in the wombat’s burrow with Romper.”
“It is incredibly cute and rare,” Tara adds. “We encourage people to come to the new Sydney Zoo to catch a glimpse for themselves.”
Sure, a loved-up swamp wallaby and wombat is reason enough to visit Sydney Zoo. But there are a few other attractions as well.
The zoo is home to more than 2000 animals including lions, cheetahs, penguins, zebras, chimpanzees, red pandas, spider monkeys, tigers and the only hyenas in Australia.
There’s also a strong presence of native animals like Tasmanian Devils, dingos, echidnas, emus and koalas. (No other romances reported at the time of writing.)
See below for the time lapse video of Swampy and Romper’s companionable night. Like in many successful relationships, the animals respect each other’s personal space. It’s enough just to be close by, doing your own thing.
In all honesty, though, Romper is mostly sleeping.
(Lead Images: Wikimedia Commons)
