Wallaby struggling to swim hoisted from harbor by ferry crew

Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Crew members on an Australian ferry were caught on camera using a rope and a boat hook to fish a soggy wallaby out of Sydney Harbor.

Joseph Battaglia, a volunteer with the Sydney Wildlife rescue group, said witnesses reported seeing the wallaby swimming off shore near Sydney suburb Manly on Thursday evening.

"This woman came to us with a pram and a couple of kids in it and said a wallaby has just jumped into the water around at Fairlight and is swimming across," Battaglia told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Witnesses watched as crew members on the Manly Fast Ferry attempted to throw the wallaby a flotation device, but the marsupial did not cooperate.

Renee Gartner posted a video to Twitter showing the crew members using a rope and a boat hook to hoist the wallaby on board the ferry.

"What they did was they put a rope around the front of the wallaby in the water and then they used a boat hook to grab hold of its tail ... and they managed to raise it onboard the boat, the Manly Fast Ferry," Battaglia said.

Battaglia boarded the ferry once it came ashore and helped calm the marsupial before transporting it to a local veterinarian.

The wallaby, a young female, was dubbed Chrissy in honor of ferry crew member Chris Thomas, who was responsible for the animal's rescue.