Wallaby spotted in Pluckley
by Thom Morris
tmorris@thekmgroup.co.uk
Well I’ll be! A wallaby who hopped its way down a farm
track in Pluckley is now set to become a YouTube hit.
A 14-second film clip was taken by village resident Alex Pooley
who caught the cheeky creature on camera as she walked her dog
Shackleton, two.
The 29-year-old said: “We were in a field near the train station
and I saw what I thought was a giant hare, but then it moved and
started hopping.
“I
was a bit surprised to say the least and the dog was off the lead
at the time and he went off to investigate. They ran around for a
couple of minutes and then he came back and I put him on the
lead.
“Then I saw it hopping down the path towards us. It seemed
pretty friendly and quite intrigued because it came right up to
us.”
Grabbing her mobile phone, teacher Alex managed to film the
animal before it once again hopped off.
Wallabies are generally found in Australia though have been
spotted in the UK including areas of Devon and East Sussex.
In 2009 a ghost hunting trip to Pluckley that ended up with
a family being spooked by a wallaby (pictured above left).
Mum Mandy Page took daughters Sophie and Lauren for
a bit of spirit spotting in November. But instead of a headless
horseman, they found a wallaby staring back at them.
The month before that, commuter Ula Griggs encountered a wallaby
crossing the road. The stunned motorist saw it bounce across at
Bell Lane, just outside Pluckley.
In 2005 a wallaby (pictured left) was hit by motorist Kate
Scorey at the Texaco garage, A20 outside Lenham as she was driving
home in the dark.
In September 2008, a wallaby was spotted on Magpie Hall Road in
Stubbs Cross. It was believed to be Wesley, a wallaby that had
escaped from a farm eight years before and was frequently glimpsed
around the area.
The creatures have a life expectancy of about 18 years.
09/05/12
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