A local council is on high alert after a wallaby was discovered for the first time in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
The wallaby was found dead on the side of Ongarue Waimiha Rd, north of Taumarunui, in the Ruapehu district on Sunday, June 11.
Horizons Regional Council environmental manager Craig Davey, who was notified about the dead wallaby, said the council has been using various approaches to try and confirm any other wallaby sightings in the area.
"If a discovery of a carcass or a sighting is in a specific location, the wallabies move, so we want high-intensity surveillance within a kilometre," he said.
The council has used various surveillance strategies, including trained wallaby detector dogs, but has yet to find sightings of any more wallabies.
"What we're looking at is not a large or an established population in that immediate vicinity," Davey said.
"So we're planning on extending our range with these dogs and coming back to check again because there were areas that were hard to organise for surveillance in the short frame."
Alongside wallaby detector dogs, the council will launch thermal-seeking drones this week to help in the search.
Locals those that live in the broader vicinity of the original sighting are also on the hunt.
"In that discussion, one person recommended their property as a suitable place to look at because they did see a wallaby a few years ago," said Davey.
The handlers of the wallaby detector dogs referred to wallabies as "little grey ghosts" and said they are challenging to find.
"They're obviously timid, shy and do not want to die, so they're gonna hide away and manage their safety as best as they can."
Davey said that a wallaby's small appearance is also part of the problem, but not in the way you'd think.
"They're cute and small, kind of like house pets. But they eat half the forests' seedlings, so it's not cute when you find the wallabies damaging our farmlands and forests."
If members of the public come across a wallaby sighting, Davey shared some tips on what to do.
"We do want to know as soon as possible so we can just see if there is a population that's started, so if you see something bigger than a possum and it's either hopping or dead on the side of the road, go to reportwallabies.nz. That's the best, most consistent way.
"You can also ring your regional council guy but what you don't want to do is do nothing."
By Mayank Kumar
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