A wallaby report in mid-September prompted Environment Southland to undertake an investigation into the possibility of a wallaby near Te Anau.
Environment Southland said in a statement yesterday 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 BayRd.
"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.
