Black-flanked rock-wallaby

Textured pads on its hind feet, which act much like the sole of a running shoe, enable the black-flanked rock-wallaby to bound around its rocky home. It moves swiftly and confidently, its dark fur perfectly camouflaged with its surroundings.

Rock-wallabies shelter during the hottest part of the day in caves and among cliffs to avoid water loss, then emerge in the early evening to graze on grass and herbs. They live in colonies, and although they rarely make a sound, scientists believe that members communicate using a complex array of behaviours and chemical signals. 

There’s still a lot we don't know about the wary black-flanked rock-wallaby, but we do know that its numbers are declining and that we need to act fast. While there's clearly no place like home, moving wallabies to areas of suitable habitat and keeping out predators has proven effective.

There are three subspecies of black-flanked rock-wallaby:
1. Petrogale Iateralis lateralis (black-flanked rock-wallaby) which is patchily distributed through most of Western Australia south of the Kimberley;
2. Petrogale Iateralis hacketti (Recherche rock-wallaby), found only on three islands in the Archipelago of the Recherche in Western Australia;
3. Petrogale Iateralis pearsoni (Pearson island rock-wallaby), found on islands off South Australia.

There are also two races of black-flanked rock-wallaby:
1. Petrogale Iateralis MacDonnell Ranges race, found throughout central Australia
2. Petrogale Iateralis west Kimberley race, known from the Grant, Edgar and Erskine ranges in the west Kimberley (also known as wiliji by Traditional Owners of this region).

Did you know?

The soles of its hind feet are coarse, acting much like the sole of a running shoe, providing friction and grip as the rock-wallaby bounces around the rocks at high speed.

This species is known by many names in English and traditional Indigenous Australian languages, including: warru (or waru), black-flanked rock-wallaby, black-footed rock-wallaby, side-striped rock-wallaby, bokal, moororong, kakuya , lungkarrpa, pakultarra, rukapiki, tanpa, tjinangalku, tjirti, wartilara, wokartji, arrwe or kavtetve. The Latin name, Petrogale lateralis, means ‘notable-sided rock-weasel’– although these sweet animals look nothing like a weasel, and are not even distantly related to them.