On-the-run albino wallaby which escaped from Leeds animal sanctuary recaptured

The pair were reported loose after high winds damaged their paddock and allowed them to hop free from Thorner Alpacas on the outskirts of Leeds.

The pair, a male called Amadeus and a female called Roxy, took advantage of the bad weather on Wednesday evening to leap through a small hole in their fencing.

The owners of the endangered marsupials, native to Tasmania, previously said that they had a vet "on standby" to “dart” the animals in order to bring them under control.

But they confirmed this morning (Fri) that after a two-day hunt, the female, Roxy, had now been “captured” and was “safe and well”.

They were this afternoon investigating a further possible sighting of Amadeus.

A message from the animal sanctuary posted earlier on Facebook read: “If they happen to be on your property, please don’t approach them as they will flee.

“If you are able to somehow secure them and contact us immediately, we can come and collect.”

A villager said she had seen the two wallabies in her garden at 7:00 am yesterday (Thursday), but that they had moved off by the time they could be caught.

It is understood that Roxy, now back in captivity, also had a joey, a baby wallaby, in her pouch while she went on the run.

Owner Nathan Pearson-Clough, who operates the animal sanctuary, said about the damage to the paddock: "The bad weather that we had knocked part of a big branch of a tree down, and the branch knocked the wood off the top of the post, which then hit the meshing.

"The rest of our animals are fine, but unfortunately, our two white wallabies got through.

"We do have a vet on standby that can 'dart' if needed, but the ideal scenario would be to be able to get them in an enclosed area such as a garden where someone could just calmly close the gate or a field because, obviously, trying to catch a wallaby in open space is very hard to do.

He added: "They're not going to attack you – they're not dangerous animals – they are more frightened of you than you of them.

"But if you do try to approach them, they'll get scared and jump off, and they can jump up to eight-foot, so please don't try and approach them."

Mr Pearson-Clough also said that due to their hopping abilities, they could have ventured to some of the other villages that neighbour rural Thorner.

"The fields they have come from mean they could not only be in Thorner, but they could hop their way through to Bardsey, hop through to Scarcroft, Whinmoor, Scholes,” he said

"There are these big open farm fields in the area, so they could literally hop in so many different directions.

For now, Mr Pearson-Clough said it was important that residents in Thorner and the surrounding communities keep a close eye out for the final escapee.

“It's just making sure everyone's being vigilant,” he said

"The fields have been secured again now, and we just want to get them back in, really."

Anyone who sees the wallabies is being asked to message Nathan on the Thorner Alpacas Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/thorneralpacas/

Police can be contacted on 101 quoting log 1671 of 28/10/2021.

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