Wallabies flourishing in the wild on Isle of Man

Wild wallabies, normally attuned to warmer climes, are thriving on the Isle of Man. The animals, native to Australia and Tasmania, have been flourishing on the tiny island in the middle of the Irish Sea ever since a pair escaped in the 1970s from a wildlife park in the Curraghs, an area of wetland in the north-west of the island.

Researchers believe now there are more than a 100 living in the wild. The scientists who have been monitoring them with hidden cameras to see their effect on the environment believe their numbers have increased due to lack of predators and competitors.

The animals, which graze on grasslands, foraging willows and young shrubs, have normally confined themselves to the north of the island but scientists say they are on the move and they have been spotted in the south.

Paige Havlin, who conducted a research project into the red-necked wallabies as part of her university thesis, found that the mammals had most likely descended from escapees of the Curraghs Wildlife Park, including Wanda, the wallaby who escaped shortly after the park opened and returned later the same year. Another incident occurred in 1989 when eight wallabies dug under their enclosure and escaped.

She told the Isle of Man Today: “It is highly probable, though, that the wallaby population originated from the wildlife park. The strongest evidence for this is that the densest population of wallabies in the Isle of Man lives directly behind the wildlife park on the Curragh wetlands site.”

Havlin, a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, has amassed a collection of more than 1,000 videos of wallabies in the Ballaugh area, as well as hundreds of videos contributed by members of the public across the island.

She said: “My research method used camera traps, which are small camera boxes that can be attached to a tree or post and which capture videos when triggered by movement. A very small minority of these wallabies appeared to have blindness; when individuals did appear to be blind (presenting as a cataract-like milky layer on one or both of their eyes) the problem was usually accompanied by other ailments such as an inner-ear infection, characterised by a tilted head.

“Given that it is likely there have been more escapes over the years than have been reported it is likely the gene pool is much larger than just the genes from the often-quoted pair of escapees, and there have been no obvious signs of the effects of inbreeding. A genetic study of the population, though, would be required to fully dispel this myth.”

The marsupials have now colonised the Archallagan plantation near Foxdale and the population is expected to increase, as greater numbers inhabit the island’s wooded and grassland areas.