Wandering wallaby

A Bennett’s wallaby was found dead on State Highway 1 between Blenheim and Riverlands on Saturday, two kilometers south of central Blenheim.

“The sighting has been investigated by the Marlborough District Council, and it is believed that the dead wallaby has come from further south and been dumped”, commented Biosecurity New Zealand Jacquiline Neave.

“While it is unusual to see wallabies outside of the areas where they are known to be, such as in the Rotorua Lakes and South Canterbury-North Otago areas, we can confirm that in the last few days, the Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme has received a report of a dead wallaby sighting in Marlborough.”

The South Island’s population of Bennett’s wallabies were released near Timaru in the 1870s.

In 2016, another dead wallaby was found on State Highway 63, near St Arnaud in the upper Wairau Valley.

There have been several live reported wallaby sightings in Marlborough in recent years including in Picton, Rai Valley, Ngākuta Bay and Te Hoiere/Pelorus Sound – but with no live animals found.

“The programme has received a few reports of potential wallaby sightings from the Marlborough area over the years but in each case, follow up by the Marlborough District Council, with Tipu Mātoro’s support, has found no evidence of the pest in the region”.

“[However], we ask anyone who sees a wallaby in the wild – dead or alive – to report it to www.report wallabies.nz.”