Kenilworth teenager spots rare white wallaby on her way to school
By James Smith
10th Feb 2022 | Local News
A rare white wallaby has been spotted by a Kenilworth teenager on her way to school.
Thirteen-year-old Harriet Billyeald spotted the animal on Rouncil Lane as her father drove her to school on Monday morning.
Dad, Mark, had to step on the brakes quickly as the wallaby jumped into the road ahead of them.
"I was on my way to school as normal from Beausale to Kenilworth in the car," Harriet said.
"We were going round a corner and then we had to quickly stop because we saw the wallaby in the road.
"We didn't know what it was at first. I took a load of photos and then I called my mum to tell her. It was really surprising seeing it."
The wallaby was first spotted in Kenilworth last October, and there have been at least two more sightings since then.
White Wallabies are native to Bruny Island in Tasmania and are so coloured because of a rare genetic mutation.
Harriet added: "It stayed there for quite a while, it bounced back and forth and stayed in the middle of the road.
"It wasn't very interested in the car, it looked at us a couple of times but then it hopped away."
Mark said he "had absolutely no idea" what it was until his wife, Charlotte, explained about the wallaby sightings.
"I assumed some small holding round the corner had some wallabies that had escaped, but my wife said there have been a few sightings across Warwickshire."
The RSPCA said it was likely the wallaby had escaped from a private collection.
"Most people may be unaware that wallabies are considered established in the wild in Britain, as a result of escaping from captivity, although they are not a native species to the UK," a spokesperson said.
"Our advice to people who spot a wallaby in the wild is to watch from afar and don't try to approach them."
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