Little Edie could have been another country road casualty.
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But thanks to a stranger’s split-second decision to stop, the baby wombat is one of the latest residents at Hunter Valley Zoo.
Edie was rescued and sent to a wildlife carer last year after her mother was hit and killed by a car somewhere in the Hunter Valley.
“It never hurts to stop and check,” zookeeper Danielle Rae said. “The only reason Edie is alive today is because someone stopped and checked.”
Without a known birth date, zookeepers have calculated Edie’s age to be between seven and eight months.
Just like a baby, she is cradled and bottle fed.
“The first thing everyone says [when they see her] is awww, because she is just so cute and young,” Ms Rae said.
Edie’s three-hourly night time feeds have stopped and she’s moving onto solid foods like grass and Weet-Bix.
Ms Rae said Edie was moving into the toddler phase and if left on her own in an open space would quickly disappear.
“There’s a reason wombats are called bulldozers of the bush – they get into everything.”
At five kilograms, Edie will grow to about 40 kilograms and is quickly becoming a star attraction.
“We find kids learn so much more if they can touch it and feel it rather than seeing it asleep through a glass cage,” Ms Rae said.
Edie will feature alongside three-year-olds Scarlett and Norbert in the zoo’s wombat show everyday this weekend from 10am.