No wallaby presence confirmed in Te Anau hunt
Following an extensive search of the wider Te Anau area no wallabies have been positively identified.
A wallaby report in mid-September prompted Environment Southland to undertake an investigation into the possibility of a wallaby near Te Anau.
Following the report, an initial investigation identified possible wallaby scat and a detector dog indicated the possible presence of an animal.
Environment Southland biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager Ali Meade said the scat was sent away for DNA sampling and the results have come back inconclusive, likely due to the age of the sample and the weather prior to the period it had been collected.
The next stage of the investigation involved specialists working with trained wallaby scat and indicator dogs, trail cameras and thermal camera drones, working from the Te Anau township, along the Lake Te Anau foreshore to the Waiau River and down to Supply Bay Road.
“No indications of a wallaby presence were found during this stage. Undertaking such a comprehensive search allows us to reassure the public that it is highly unlikely that a wallaby population has established in the area,” Ms Meade said.
“We appreciate the support the public has shown to keeping Te Anau wallaby-free.”
The search will now be closed off unless further credible reports are received.
Wallabies are a pest because they can cause significant economic and environmental impacts as they eat grass, native shrubs and trees. They can damage pasture and fences, add to erosion issues and damage young tree seedlings.
“We really want to thank the public for being alert about this threat and reporting. It would be devastating for a population of wallabies to establish in the region.
“We’d also like to thank the landowners who allowed us to search their properties and ask that they continue to be our eyes on the ground so we can respond rapidly to any incursion.”
The Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme is working nationally to contain wallabies to the known core population areas, remove wallabies found outside them and over time to reduce wallaby numbers and the sizes of the areas they populate.
The public should report all sightings or signs of wallabies at www.reportwallabies.nz
ENDS
For more information contact the communications team on 0800 76 88 45
Editor’s note:
This year there have been three reports of wallabies near Te Anau, , and three reports on the Te Anau – Mossburn Highway since 2022. All reports have been made by members of the public, however no wallabies have been found. There have been 20 total reports in Southland since 2015. All reports have been investigated by biosecurity officers, and one live wallaby was found in Invercargill in 2016.
- There are wallabies in New Zealand, with known populations in several parts of the country. They are a significant pest with serious impacts on our environment, biodiversity, and economy.
- Wallabies have no natural predators here and have the ability to spread into new areas.
- Without action, it is estimated pest wallabies could inhabit up to one-third of Aotearoa New Zealand within 50 years.
- Wallabies are browsers. They prefer to eat young plants and seedlings. This impacts production crops and pastures and means our forests cannot regenerate or provide habitat for our native wildlife, including native birds.
- Wallabies are an exclusion pest under Environment Southland’s Regional Pest Management Plan due to the adverse effects they can cause. Having wallabies classified in such a way provides Environment Southland with tools to manage any incursion of this introduced pest.
- The Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme is a partnership of iwi, regional councils, the Department of Conservation, Federated Farmers, Forest & Bird, LINZ, farmers, landowners, communities, and researchers that has been set up to work together to resolve the pest wallaby problem and protect New Zealand’s biodiversity and environment.
- Under the Biosecurity Act wallabies are classified as an unwanted organism in New Zealand. It is illegal to move, breed, sell, or release wallabies without a permit. Those who breach this law can face up to five years in prison and/or be fined up to $100,000.