JEFFERSON TWP —- It’s not exactly the Outback, yet a wallaby reportedly had been living on Dusty Lane this past summer.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission on Thursday cited 59-year-old Kenneth G. Ott with tampering with physical evidence and three counts of unlawful importation of game or wildlife.

A wallaby, which is similar to a kangaroo but smaller, is native to Australia.

So Randy Pilarcik, a wildlife conservation officer, said he was “surprised” to find one fenced in near Ott’s front porch on June 10.

Pilarcik on Friday said little about the case because of the pending charges.

But a criminal affidavit states that Pilarcik went to Ott’s home that day because of a different exotic animal: a coatimundi, which is native to South America and is similar to a raccoon and possum mix.

One of Ott’s neighbors called officials when he caught a coatimundi in his yard, according to the court records.

Those records say that Pilarcik wanted to ask Ott about the coatimundi because Ott had been cited five months earlier with the illegal possession of two coatimundis.

Court records say Pilarcik spotted the wallaby on that first visit.

Ott wasn’t home then, so Pilarcik returned to the house three days later.

Wildlife conservation officers reportedly visited Ott’s home twice on June 13. On the second visit the wallaby was gone, according to court records.

Ott at first denied any knowledge of the coatimundi, and claimed that someone else owned the wallaby and had retrieved it earlier.

Later Ott allegedly told the officers that he had the wallaby removed from his property because a neighbor had seen the conservation officers at his home earlier that day, according to court records.

When contacted for this report, Ott said he had been “watching” the wallaby for a friend.

Ott declined to elaborate because he said he had not received a copy of the citations and wanted to first speak with a lawyer.

According to state law, it’s not illegal to own exotic animals, like coatimundis and wallabies.

However, Pennsylvania laws require a person to first get two years experience training with the animal. Then, they need permission from the municipality they live in and a permit to import the animal as well as a permit to house the animal.

Once these requirements are met, the animal owner must supply housing that meets specifications to the animal’s needs.

Ott is to have a preliminary hearing Dec. 10 before District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg.