This year, the Otago Regional Council has received 28 reports of wallabies. Of those, 20 were considered "unreliable" — the animal misidentified or unable to be located after investigation.
Council environmental implementation manager Libby Caldwell said the number of public reports of wallabies in Central Otago had increased by an average of 80% per year since 2020.
However, the percentage of unreliable reports had doubled in the same period and the rise did not indicate an increase in the local population, Mrs Caldwell said.
"People sometimes [report] cats, hares, possums and even fallow deer as wallaby."
The council had a media campaign planned for next year to help people correctly identify Bennett’s wallaby, the species found in the South Island.
"Small breeding populations of Bennett’s wallaby are known to exist at three sites within Central Otago," she said.
"Each site is estimated to have less than 10 wallaby, and efforts are under way to eliminate these populations."
The continued reporting of wallabies — dead or alive — was vital for the Tipu Mātoro National Wallaby Eradication Programme, she said.
Biosecurity New Zealand pest management director John Walsh said the eradication programme had a strong focus on preventing the spread of wallabies to areas south of the Waitaki River.
"Further spread leads to increased damage and costs over time. That’s why we take reliable reports of outlier wallaby sightings very seriously and a significant amount of control work has occurred in South Canterbury to eliminate wallabies outside of containment."
Regional and national awareness campaigns had increased the public’s awareness and support for the eradication of wallabies in New Zealand, he said.
Central Otago district councillor and Wedderburn farmer Stu Duncan said there was plenty of "local chat" when a wallaby was spotted.
Good work by the regional council and local pest management groups had increased reporting, he said.
Wallaby sightings can be reported online at reportwallabies.nz.
