There are over 570 wallabies living wild in the Isle of Man, a study has found.
The animals are related to kangaroos and native to Australia and New Guinea.
The first wild wallaby sighting on the island reportedly dates back to 1966.
It was thought that it escaped from a wildlife park.
Manx Wildlife Trust conducted the first accurate count of the red necked wallabies in the Ballaugh Curragh.
They used thermal imaging drones to count the critters.
The count took place between 8 and 11 January however, strong winds prevented them from counting further areas.
However, Ballaugh Curragh is believed to be where most wallabies live.
Manx Wildlife trust carried out two surveys over two consecutive nights.
They searched 400 hectares of the Ballaugh Curragh.
On the first night, 563 wallabies were detected.
However the second survey found a total of 572.
Ben Harrower of BH Wildlife Consultancy said: ‘The results of the survey were really eye opening.
”The wallaby population at this site is into the several hundreds and they appear to be doing very well in this habitat.
”It would be interesting to look at the impacts that they are having.
”I can only compare these numbers to those of muntjac deer in the UK where the deer have been seen to have quite a high impact.”
