Pennywell Farm, Buckfastleigh, introduced its new star this week – a hand-reared baby wallaby. 'It is something of a miracle that he's here at all,' said managing director Chris Murray. 'We found his mother lying dead one morning, totally unexpectedly.' George Hedges, who runs the Devon Eagle and Falcon Centre at Pennywell, noticed a slight movement in her pouch. Mr Murray said: 'When he investigated he found a tiny baby wallaby. His wife, Elaine, took over and has done a fantastic job rearing him. 'It's an outstanding achievement to hand-rear a wallaby. 'We weren't sure the baby would pull through – that's why we've delayed announcing his arrival.' The baby wallaby is now approximately four-and-a-half months old. Pennywell is not sure of its sex yet, so it has no official name, although Joey and Skippy have been suggested. It is about nine-and-a-half inches tall. 'It's long, thin and angular – all legs – totally enchanting,' said Mr Murray. The baby needed feeding with a bottle of puppy formula milk every three hours at first, but it now enjoys grass, goat mix, wholemeal bread and carrots as well as two bottles of milk a day. It still lives in a pouch – an artificial one – worn by Mrs Hedges. 'Baby wallabies need to be kept warm,' explained Mr Murray. 'It's swaddled except when it appears in the Raptor and Reptile Show at noon each day, which is held in the heated theatre. 'It usually hops down the table then, being mischievous, and is enormously popular.' The baby is affectionate and totally trusts the humans who reared it. Mr Murray hopes that it will grow up to run free around Pennywell. 'I have a vision of a totally tame wallaby following me round,' he said. Pennywell has wallabies and rheas to demonstrate the future of farming. With the advent of global warming, both species need little water, and both graze on grass.