Wallabies are widely distributed across Australia, particularly in more remote, heavily timbered, or rugged areas, less so
on the great semi-arid plains that are better suited to the larger, leaner, and more fleet-footed kangaroos. They are widespread in New Zealand, where they are often hunted. There are also a few populations of wallabies in the British Isles, the largest of which can be found on the Isle of Man where there is a breeding colony of around 100.
Wallabies are not a distinct biological group. Nevertheless they fall into several broad categories. Typical wallabies of the Macropus genus, like the Agile Wallaby (Macropus agilis), and the Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) are most closely related to the kangaroos and wallaroos and, size aside, look very similar. These are the ones most frequently seen, particularly in the southern states.
Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) joey in pouch
Rock-wallabies (genus Petrogale), rather like the goats of the northern hemisphere, specialise in rugged terrain and have modified feet designed to grip rock with skin friction rather than dig into soil with large claws. There are at least fifteen species and the relationship between several of them is poorly understood. Several are endangered. Captive rock wallaby breeding programs like the one at Healesville Sanctuary have had some success and a small number have recently been released into the wild.
The Banded Hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) is thought to be the last remaining member of the once-numerous subfamily Sthenurinae, and although once common across southern Australia, is now restricted to two islands off the Western Australian coast which are free of introduced predators. It is not as closely related to the other hare wallabies (genus Lagorchestes) as the hare wallabies are to the other wallabies.
There is a large feral
population of over 100 in the Isle of Man in the Ballaugh Curraghs area, having bred originally from a pair that escaped from the nearby Curraghs Wildlife Park some years ago.
Additionally, a small feral population of wallabies is known to exist in Hawai'i, in the upper regions of Kalihi Valley of the island of Oahu.<2> This colony arose from an escape of zoo specimens of Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) in 1916.
A number of wallaby breeding colonies in other parts of the world have been
established at times in the past, but only one proved viable. The two principal populations were those of the island of Inchconnachan in Loch Lomond, Scotland and in the Peak District of England. The Peak District population was established in around 1940
by five escapees from a local zoo, and as of late March 2009 sightings were still being made in the area At its peak in 1975 the population numbered around sixty individuals. The Loch Lomond population was deliberately established in the 1920s and unmanaged, has achieved a viable population of around 28 Restricted to the island of Inchconnachan there are occasional escapes to the mainland when the loch freezes over. Other populations in the United Kingdom that for some periods bred successfully included one near Teignmouth, Devon, another in the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex and one on the island of Bute and Lundy.
There is also a small population on Lambay Island off the east coast of Ireland. This group was introduced by Dublin Zoo after a sudden population explosion in the mid 1980s