Introduction
Dama wallabies were released in the Bay of Plenty area around 1912. Since then, they have made New Zealand their home in native bush and pine forests around Lake Okataina. They are now thought to occur in higher numbers than other introduced mammals such as red deer, possums, and pigs, although their density has never actually been assessed.
Numbers of wallaby are thought to be ‘moderate’, while deer numbers are considered ‘low-moderate. Generally, wallabies prefer grazing on pasture species. Where they have access to pasture, upwards of 70% of their diet consists of pasture species. Where they have native bush they have adapted to a diet of forest species, with a preference for species such as mahoe, and kamahi.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is making its first attempt to eradicate the Dama wallaby species, introduced nearly 140 years ago, as the pest threatens native plant species.
About 370 plastic bait stations carrying 20,000 pellets of the cyanide-based pesticide Feratox have been laid over 800ha on Rotorua's Mt Ngongotaha.
The mountain has the biggest known isolated population outside Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Other large isolated populations are in the Te Puke and Pyes Pa area.
How big is a dama wallaby and what do do they look like
The dama is one of the smallest of the wallaby species introduced to New Zealand, standing up to half a meter tall. They are grey-brown in colour, with a pale puku. They have a thin white stripe under the eye down to the nose. Adults sometimes have a reddish-brown patch across their shoulders. The dama wallaby weighs up to 4.3-5 kg for females and for the men it's around 4.7-6.5 kgs and for the height it's about 430mm-530mm for females and the men are 490mm-600mm.
For these images on the left one is the north island and on the right that is the south island and in the red circles on the images that is around 10,000 on the red and that is on the 2015 and then on the yellow is were it expand to and the green and cyan and orange is the future so in the yellow that probably 500 on north and 500 on the south island and the green on the north island that's around 1000 and on the south there is about 200 and on the blue
Do dama wallabies like humans?
Dama wallabies do not like humans very much. Even though females are much smaller than males, they can scratch and kick and could pose a safety risk - particularly to small children. Turning your back on it and running could be dangerous as a large male can easily outrun you and still kick at the same time.
Sometimes they will like you if you leave them alone but most likely they will try to attack you if you get close to them.