Second dead wallaby found on a Southland highway

Was a hunter playing a prank – or are wallabies slowly moving to Southland?

A dead wallaby found on the side of the road near Mossburn prompted an investigation by Environment Southland and pest control staff.

It’s the second time a dead wallaby has been found on that stretch of road.

The wallaby, which had bullet holes in it, was reported to the regional council by members of the public who found it on the roadside while driving from Mossburn to Te Anau on December 12, Environment Southland biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager Ali Meade said.

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Staff inspected the area, including both sides of the road, but found no evidence of wallabies being present.

Neighbouring landowners were asked to keep an eye out and report any sightings or sign of wallabies, Meade said.

The find is not the first in Southland, or on that highway.

In March last year a motorist reported seeing a wallaby along the Mossburn-Te Anau highway, and in May a tourist reported a sighting at Waipapa Point.

In 2019, a dead wallaby was found near the border of Southland and Otago at Shingle Creek near Roxburgh.

In June 2022, then-Environment Southland councillor Lloyd Esler warned that wallabies would soon establish a population in the province.

“They’re coming this way because they’ll be on this side of the Clutha [River]’’ he warned.

“This is much worse than possums, this is much worse than rabbits – they are coming.’’

Wallabies are an exclusion pest as part of the Southland Regional Pest Management Plan, and they can cause significant economic and environmental impacts because they can foul pasture, damage fences, add to erosion issues and damage young tree seedlings.

People can report any wallaby sightings in Southland online at www.reportwallabies.nz