At the time I visited Pakistan I was living in Rusholme in Manchester next to the 'curry mile'. I as a white Mancunian was in the minority in that area. Still didn't prepare me for what I was about to witness in The Northwest Territories though.
Yes, I've heard that story also. There was a rumour that they escaped from a travelling circus, although what a circus would want with a bunch of wallabies I'm not sure.
I used to go there quite a lot to climb at the nearby Roaches, but must admit, even though they were supposed to be at their peak back then, I never encountered any of the little critters.
Hi Vinny, there is a theory that these wild large cats are a result of Government legislation that was introduced (I think it was in the eighties) that made it illegal to own such an animal. At the time they were popular 'pets' for the rich and famous and the theory goes that many were released into the wild rather than condemning them to a life in a zoo or even being put down. Seems to make sense.
As for the Peak Park wallabies, it's funny because I was just telling a customer about them today. He has just bought a hotel in the area and had not heard about them. I told him as far as I knew they had died out in the nineties, but got a pleasant surprise when I googled it to find that story in todays newspaper. I think he's going to add it as a local attraction when he advertises his new hotel.
It gave me great pleasure to read this article in todays newspaper.
The wallabies have seemingly returned to our Peak District National Park.
Return of the wallabies: Pictures prove that Aussie marsupials are still hopping around Peak District after fears they had died out
It was feared they had died out. But nine years after the wallabies of the Peak District were thought to have hopped into oblivion, a hiker managed to photograph this one. However, he may have stumbled on the lone survivor from a colony that used to number at least 60. Five were released into the wild from a private collection in the 1930s. They found conditions in upland Derbyshire sufficiently to their liking to begin breeding and became something of a tourist attraction. However, the colony was hard hit by the harsh winter of 1962-63 and never really recovered. By 2000 they were feared to have died out completely. But rumours that the odd one might remain have finally been confirmed by the pictures taken by walker Andy Burton, 46.
He said: 'We were taking a bit of a shortcut across the moor, and when we came out of the woodland we saw the wallaby in grassland. 'It was about ten yards away and just stood there looking at us for a few minutes. 'It was totally unfazed by us, and I managed to take a couple of snaps before it disappeared. It was absolutely fantastic.'
Wallaby darned: The red-necked wallaby was thought to have died out after being introduced in the 1930s The red-necked, or Bennett's, wallabies, are one of Australia's largest species. The Peak District colony is descended from a collection kept by landowner Captain Courtney Brocklehurst which were released into an area known as The Roaches, on the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border. In recent years their already small numbers were hit by hunting, while others have been struck by cars or killed falling from cliffs. Mr Burton spotted his solitary wallaby between Gradbach and Lud Church. He said: 'I used to lived in Buxton years ago and heard the stories about wallabies up on The Roaches. ‘It's fantastic to have seen one. I would like to think there are more up there.'
bodleing Forum Posts (13,810)
...In fact this pic was taken in Mexico. 
RE: What present would u...
Some trousers...must get really cold down there.