Hopes herbivore won’t harm habitat
Concerns a wallaby invasion could ruin Marlborough’s landscape have not been helped by reported sightings of the mid-sized macropod.
Two unconfirmed sightings have the Marlborough District Council concerned the Australian pest could have a detrimental effect on the region.
Council biosecurity coordinator Jono Underwood said while there was no confirmed wallaby population in Marlborough, people had reported sightings of the mini marsupial, and they wanted to nip things in the bud before it became a problem.
‘‘We have not found any evidence of wallaby populations or live wallabies but we have had numerous reports of people thinking they have seen one,’’ he said.
Council had released a regional pest management plan for public submission, including a programme to keep wallabies out of the region.
A dead wallaby was found on State Highway 63, near St Arnaud in the upper Wairau Valley in 2016, more than 500 kilometres from where they were normally found in South Canterbury.
‘‘What we have at this stage is the likes of that carcass that we found on the road but we have also had unconfirmed reports of wallabies being sighted,’’ he said.
Underwood said the reported sightings came from the mid to upper Wairau area. Council hoped the wallaby programme would raise the profile of wallabies as posing a threat to the region.
Underwood said he was unable to say what the plan was for getting rid of wallabies, should they inhabit Marlborough.
‘‘If we do find an established population, you can’t crystal ball gaze because it all depends where they are, the nature of the popu- lation, all that has to come into what steps would be taken,’’ he said.
However, he said the aim was to stop them from establishing themselves in Marlborough.
Department of Conservation ranger Chris Wootton said DOC would be very concerned if wallabies were found in Marlborough.
Wootton said Bennett’s wallabies would have a serious impact on the environment.
Submissions on the regional pest management plan close on Friday, March 23 at 5pm.
"We have had numerous reports of people thinking they have seen one." Jono Underwood