{
  "id": 17169603,
  "title": "Boater rescues tired wallaby swimming out to sea more than 100m offshore",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/boater-rescues-tired-wallaby-swimming-out-to-sea-more-than-100m",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T03:30:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-30/wallaby-found-swimming-off-portland-coast/107327332"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A boater in southwest Victoria has rescued an exhausted wallaby that was spotted swimming over 100 meters offshore from the Portland marina. Matt Smith, the boater, heard the wallaby's distress calls and rowed out in a dinghy to assist the animal. Initially, the wallaby jumped out of the boating dinghy, but Smith managed to successfully bring it back to dry land where it was greeted by wildlife carers. The rescuer's actions have been praised on social media, but he also urged beachgoers to keep their dogs on leashes, stating that he had already done enough rowing for the day.",
  "summary": "When seagulls started madly squawking near the Portland marina in western Victoria, Matt Smith thought they'd found a dog in the water. He was in for a surprise.",
  "key_points": [
    "Boater rescues wallaby over 100m offshore in Victoria",
    "Matt Smith rowed dinghy to assist distressed wallaby",
    "Wildlife carers welcomed wallaby back to dry land"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}