'
‘An invasive species’: how an Australian marsupial took over this remote British island
International

‘An invasive species’: how an Australian marsupial took over this remote British island

author
6 minutes, 31 seconds Read

Simon Archer says the Isle of Man is steeped in stories.
The British-born pastor moved to the island about two and a half years ago, attracted by its unique landscape.
“We spent a lot of our time in London, but spent every spare moment we could getting out of London to go to the places where we hike and camp. We love beaches, we love forests and we kind of thought, ‘Why do we travel when we could live in a place like that?'”
But this remote island in the middle of the Irish Sea has developed a new – and perhaps unexpected – reputation. It is home to one iconic Australian marsupial: the red-necked wallaby.

“You start reading the stories about them and the kinds of myths and legends of people they encounter…. [wallabies are] the classic type of local refugees have thrived in the environment they escaped into,” Archer said.

The red-necked wallaby gets its name from its striking rust-colored coat. Credit: Sue Corrin

In 2023, drone surveys by Manx Wildlife Trust identified 568 wild wallabies at Ballaugh Curragh, a protected wetland area on the Isle of Man.

Just two years later, the population had grown to 1,000 to 1,300, according to local conservation group estimates.
Anthony Caravaggi, a conservation biologist at the University of South Wales, has been mapping wallaby sightings in Britain for more than a decade. He conducted a small-scale study using camera traps and statistical models.
At the time, Caravaggi thought his estimates of between 1,200 and 2,000 wallabies on the island “were way off”. But his calculations were in line with recent Manx Wildlife Trust research.
“Wildlife can be difficult to spot if they are in heavy brush or other conditions that make them difficult to detect,” he said.

“I do wonder whether quite a bit was missed earlier, because otherwise we are talking about a huge population increase in a very short time.”

Wallabies on the run

The exact story behind the free-roaming wallabies on the Isle of Man remains a mystery.

It is known that in 1965 a wallaby named Wanda escaped from the Curraghs Wildlife Park during the first year of its existence. Within a year she was returned to the government-owned zoo, but in the decade that followed, more and more wallabies escaped from their enclosures, according to local media.

A wallaby stands in front of a bucket with a piece of half-eaten bread in his hand.

Today, more than 100 species live in the Curraghs Wildlife Park, including red pandas, penguins and a population of Australian wallabies. Credit: Curraghs Wildlife Park

The exact number of refugees has not been confirmed, although the gene pool within the population is likely small.

“There would be an inbreeding risk. The wallabies could be more susceptible to disease or the other effects of inbreeding,” Caravaggi said.
Archer, known as the Isle of Man vicar, told Dateline he has had varied conversations with parishioners as a local priest in Arbory ​​and Castletown.
“Where I live is … a real rural farming community, and you have people from all walks of life,” he said.

Archer believes crop damage and the risks associated with inbreeding are major concerns for farmers.

Hundreds of people crowd around ancient medieval castles and an island waterfront. People also drive boats and swim in the blue water.

Simon Archer said one of the best preserved medieval castles in Europe is right on his doorstep. Credit: Simon Sagittarius

“There is a danger that there are quite sick wallabies out there… and farmers with livestock understand what that could mean for their animals in the future,” Archer said.

‘Quite harmful’

The Isle of Man has a population of around 84,000 and is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, meaning it has its own parliament, government and laws.
It covers an area of ​​about 500 square kilometers, roughly the same size as Vanuatu’s island of Efate, home to the Pacific country’s capital Port Vila.
Ballaugh Curragh, in the northwest of the Isle of Man, is listed under the Ramsar Convention, a treaty that aims to prevent the loss of wetlands worldwide. It has also been designated as a ‘site of special scientific interest’ by the government, recognizing its unique ecological value.

The wetlands are known for their swamp pools, birch bushes and gray willow – called ‘curragh’ by locals, from which the area takes its name. With mild winters and cool summers, the habitat also resembles parts of Tasmania, where the red-necked wallaby is native to.

Caravaggi said winters in Britain are becoming milder and the cold snap is becoming less severe.
“We have a lot of shrubs… so actually the landscape and the climate are becoming more and more favorable for them [wallabies]” he said.
And although small in size, wallabies are the Isle of Man’s largest wild land mammal, with a widespread distribution on the island.
They have collided with vehicles in the past and one incident in 2018 involved a car swerving and hitting a wall.
“They can be quite invasive, they can be quite harmful… and as they grow, they can be quite harmful.” no natural enemiesThere is a good chance that we will encounter them many more times,” says Archer.

What to do?

Wallabies are considered an invasive non-native species on the Isle of Man. Under the Wildlife Act, it is an offense to release or allow a captured wallaby to escape into the wild.
But historically, the island has taken a hands-off approach to these mammals. Nevertheless, Manx Wildlife Trust has called for an all-island policy regarding the future of the population, citing their “growing” impact on the island’s ecology.
In an online position statement the organization acknowledges that there are differing views on the way forward, citing calls from some in the community to cull them all. It also notes that others believe wallabies are “an important visitor attraction” or “useful grazing animal”.
In their statement, the trust said there are three options to consider: eradication, management or no action. The charity did not respond to further questions from Dateline.
Although Archer said he would “hate” if wallabies were culled altogether, he acknowledged they are an invasive species.
“You have an invasive species, it’s not really supposed to be there and as cute and sweet as it may be to someone… it is [eradication is] still something that should be considered as an option,” he said.
As a scientist, Caravaggi said his views on culling the animals would ultimately be determined by the evidence.

“I think we need to close these kinds of knowledge gaps and answer the questions that we have before we make a statement either way,” he said.

Wild Australian species elsewhere

From redback spiders in Japan to mosquitoes in urban California and possums in New Zealand, Australian species have established wild populations worldwide.
Tim Lows is an expert on introduced species and co-founder of the Invasive Species Council. He believes that biosecurity is an increasing threat and has become increasingly complex to prevent, detect and intercept.

“It’s so hard to put the genie back in bottles. Due to globalization, people buy things abroad, go abroad a few times a year, [biosecurity threats are] just explodes,” he said.

A sniffer dog wearing a blue harness and collar sniffs a bag in an airport lounge.

Sniffer dog teams intercepted more than 42,000 high-risk objects, including at Australian airports in 2024. Source: MONKEY / David Jones

The Department of Defense has a budget of almost $60 billion per year. By comparison, biosecurity funding is $935 million, which is expected to drop to $889 million in 2028-2029, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

From Lows’ perspective, biosecurity is ‘underfunded’ and should be valued as highly as defence.

“I mean, it’s not a sexy issue,” he said.

But for the humble Isle of Man wallaby, which is at the center of the conservation debate, Caravaggi believes public opinion is “now a very, very strong player in conservation”.
The fate of the animals has yet to be determined, although Caravaggi believes a decision is imminent.
“Driven mainly by the globalization of media and social media… my impression is that this is the case [Isle of Man] about to make a decision one way or another.”

#invasive #species #Australian #marsupial #remote #British #island

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *