Chautauqua County is home to many things - beautiful nature, friendly faces, and now one runaway wallaby.

The creature has been spotted near New York State Route 430 between the towns of Sherman and Findley Lake, and residents have been surprised, if not amused, by the missing marsupial. 

"I had a friend called me yesterday, and he asked, 'Is this the real thing?' And I was like, I think so, it's pretty legit," said Ashlynn Roudybush, a resident of Sherman, NY. 

"I mean a wallaby? Sure. But Sherman? No," she continued. "Like of course, there's one running around."

And she's not the only one - Matthew Wells, owner of a nearby campground, was equally surprised by the news.

"It struck me as kind of strange," said Wells, owner of Bison Trace Luxury Campground in Clymer, NY.

"I guess I didn't realize that somebody had any of those animals locally...it's concerning that an animal that's not indigenous to this area is out running around.  It's harvest season. It's hunting season. So, yeah, it's a concern."

And others, like Eddie Deering, have been putting in extra effort to find the wild wallaby.

"In the last couple of days, my wife and I have gotten on our motorcycles and been riding the back roads and two tracks of western Chautauqua County to try to see if we could locate it," said Deering. "We've been looking between Sherman and Findley Lake, and do and all the back roads. No luck."

And seemingly everyone hopes the wallaby gets home safely. 

"The Wallaby is a native of Australia and we don't know what the winters are like down there," said Deering. "So we're hoping that they find it before cold weather sets in. Or a wild animal gets it."

Those who see the wallaby are encouraged to contact Small Town Shelter at 716-224-2244.