It's a long way back to Australia for the Liptov wallaby. (source: Pexels)
The Slovak High Tatras can now count another exotic inhabitant. A wallaby, whose natural environment is the rather warmer southern latitudes of Australia, has somehow ended up roaming the snowy slopes of Liptov. It's been sighed near apartment buildings, houses, a reservoir and among grazing horses in the northern Slovak region, the Pravda daily reported on Tuesday, March 12.
The daily seemed confused about what species had been sighted, referring to it as a 'red-necked kangaroo'. It seems likely that it is actually a red-necked wallaby (wallabies are marsupials that resemble kangaroos, but are generally smaller). There are no 'red-necked kangaroos' and red kangaroos, which do exist, are much larger (sometimes over 2 metres tall).
The first reports of the unusual animal wandering around Liptov began to appear last year. Several people saw the creature "out for a walk" in various parts of Liptovský Mikuláš. The city police were occasionally called after locals were surprised by seeing the exotic marsupial.
"At that time, the patrol immediately made an outing and simultaneously contacted experts for capture. However, when they arrived there, the [wallaby] was already gone," said city spokesperson Viktória Čapčíková. Residents now seem to have got used to the animal.
Then, a few days ago Alexandra Gašparíková spotted the animal on a ski slope and posted a video of it on social media.
It's a boy
Despite initial suspicions, it's been confirmed that the animal did not escape from a local "ranch" in Kráľova Lehota. The owner of the ranch, Benjamín Beňa, confirmed that in June last year a 'kangaroo' did escape. But that one was female; the animal on the ski slope was confirmed to be a male.
Efforts to capture it have been stymied by the creature's speed, but initiatives are in place to safely relocate it. Although some worry about its welfare in the wild, others believe it may thrive better there than in captivity. Its resilience through the Slovak winter is not surprising, as wallabies are known to adapt to various climates, including colder regions of Australia. Colonies of red-necked wallabies descended from escaped animals have long survived in England.
