The wallaby was at risk of jumping off the top storey of the car park and plummeting to its death, but rescuers successfully tranquilised it.

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‘‘It’s been a good end to a stressful day,’’ said a spokeswoman for Wildlife Victoria, Amy Amato.

She said the wallaby was stressed and dehydrated but was otherwise in good health. It would be taken to a shelter for a few days and then released back into the wild.

‘‘It was on the ledge where there is a (four-storey) drop-off,’’ said Ms Amato. ‘‘It was a very, very risky situation ... it’s very stressful. Once they’re darted, they can still be hopping around for a minute or two until the tranquiliser kicks in.’’

Ms Amato said that the shopping centre’s management – which first noticed the wallaby about 10am on Thursday – had closed off the carpark so it could be rescued. It was tranquilised shortly after noon.

Ms Amato said the wallaby had apparently made its way from nearby parkland.

‘‘We’re seeing a lot of cases of kangaroos and wallabies coming into urban areas,’’ said Ms Amato.

‘‘They just get pushed out of their own territory by development that goes on. They just don’t have anywhere else to go but out on the roads.

‘‘It’s really sad. They get displaced and disoriented and not sure how to get back to where they want to be.’’