You might think wallabies were only found in the wild in Australia. They are, after all, the name for the nation’s rugby union team. Yet after a group of Red-Necked Wallabies escaped from a wildlife park on the UK’s Isle of Man back in the 1960s, they adapted to the climate, and over 500 wild wallabies now inhabit the island.
The Ballagh Curraghs is a wetland in the northwestern corner of the Isle of Man, a small landmass in the Irish Sea, between Ireland and Great Britain. Despite having a storied history of fauna in its own right, including the famous Manx Cat, the island has recently become home to a more surprising furry friend.
In the 1960s, a group of Red-Necked Wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus) escaped from the Curraghs Wildlife Park. Though they were on the other side of the world from their native home in Southeast Australia and the island of Tasmania, they succeeded in the Isle of Man’s far cooler climate.
The scale of their growth was highlighted in a recent study by the Manx Wildlife Trust. Conducted in January 2023, the survey found over 560 wallabies living in the north of the island. This smashed previous estimates that there were only over 100.
“I was personally astounded at the number we counted,” Leigh Morris, MWT chief executive said. “There were far more than we were expecting,” he added, while also saying the organization was “100% confident in the numbers.”
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It tracked the animals over 988 acres (400 hectares) using thermal imaging technology mounted on a drone. It involved two surveys, over consecutive nights, and found 140 of the animals per 0.38 square miles (1 sq km).
It remains unclear what exactly will happen to the animals, with opinions on the island split about the non-native species.
“We’ve got a lot of people who love wallabies and think they’re cute and cuddly and want to photograph them,” Morris explained. “On the other extreme of the conversation, some of my colleagues will say that they’re a non-native animal, they shouldn’t be here.”
Just this week, the Isle of Man’s Department for Enterprise said that it hadn’t done a specific risk assessment on the threat wild wallabies could pose to the island’s famous motorbike races. The Isle of Man TT races, held annually, are some of the most famous, and dangerous, motorbike races in the world.
Interested in wallabies? Check out this Great Big Story below:
