White wallaby rescued from side of the road in Dartford

A white wallaby has been rescued and reunited with its owner after being found on the side of a road in Kent.

Kent Police said officers were called to Trolling Down Hill in Dartford at about 09:30 BST on Friday to a report of the animal in the area.

“Officers attended to ensure the safety of road users and of the animal,” the force added.

“Enquiries were completed and the wallaby was safely reunited with its owner shortly after 10am.”

Wallabies are primarily found in Australia and nearby islands, and are members of the macropod family of marsupials, along with kangaroos.

They are typically small to medium-sized and have powerful hind legs that they use to bound along at high speeds and jump distances.

A research paper in 2020 by Holly M. English of University College Dublin and Anthony Caravaggi of the University of South Wales looked into wallabies in the UK.

They believed wallabies were likely first brought to the UK for zoos as well as for private collections in the late 19th Century.

From then, it is believed that during World Wars One and Two some were released into the countryside as people were unable to look after them.

Helen Pearson, head of animal studies at Suffolk Rural, which has its own wallabies, said they could survive “quite well” in the UK.

“They live in shrubland out there, so as much as you think Australia is quite hot, they cope quite well in our climate,” she explained.

“They’re really hardy animals.”