Little Wallace, who is thought to be the only wallaby of his kind to be hand-reared, got out of his pen at Crazy Critters Experience near Johnstonebridge in Dumfries and Galloway.

A huge search is underway for a hand-reared wallaby after he was spooked and escaped his enclosure.

Little Wallace got out of his pen at Crazy Critters Experience near Johnstonebridge, Dumfries and Galloway on Friday night.

It is feared the three-year-old Parma wallaby was frightened by dogs and hurt himself as he made his escape.

Wallace was rejected by his mum and is thought to be the only wallaby of his kind to be hand-reared.

For the past few days, Crazy Critters owner Luke Mitchell and a team of helpers – including drones – have been scouring the area without luck.

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He said: “We’ve been searching high and low.

“We’ve been told people came into the car park and left their dogs off the leash. They were running around barking and this has spooked him.

“Seeing how he has escaped, he was definitely scared because he has definitely hurt himself on exit.

“Someone was out again with a drone on Monday and is hoping they might find something but there’s been nothing in the local area so far.

“If people with a drone were able to go out and look that would be great.

“They don’t tend to travel very far. Someone saw something on the motorway but it was an otter or a mink.

“It had the tail of a wallaby and I would probably have thought it was him but the tail wasn’t damaged.”

Crazy Critters offers animal experiences and has a range of animals, including snakes, tortoises and meerkats.

Wallabies previously escaped from their enclosures more than a decade ago, but this is the first time Wallace has made a run for it – somehow squeezing through a gap which is around a quarter of the size of him.

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The Parma wallaby is a small marsupial native to forests and densely-vegetated areas of northeastern New South Wales, Australia.

They are described as being “about the size of a stout cat” and lives mainly under thick plant cover in the wild, only active at night when they emerges to feed on grasses and small plants.

They are so shy and elusive, parma wallabies were thought to be extinct until their rediscovery in the 1960s.

Luke said: “Wallace was kicked out his mum’s pouch as a baby twice when he was younger. I’ve hand reared him, he’s the only one of his species in the world I know of that’s been successfully hand reared.

“I’ve babied him. There’s nothing wrong with keeping animals as pets but you do need to appreciate their natural needs, which is why he’s got this natural enclosure.”

Anyone who can help or thinks they have seen Wallace should call Luke on 07546 912001.