Cambridge taxi driver startled by wallaby

A taxi driver got a shock when he spotted what he thought was a kangaroo in the middle of the road at 3.30am. Early on Sunday, Tomas Tarjan was in the middle of his night shift when he picked up three woman in Cambridge to take them to their home in Litlington. Driving along country roads, the 32-year-old and his passengers spotted what experts believe to be the first sighting in the county of a feral wallaby.

Incredulous police were called to the scene to capture the suspected kangaroo. But they were later told to let it go when zoo experts said it as likely to be a wild wallaby – possibly a descendent from a group which escaped from Whipsnade 60 years ago. Mr Tarjan said: “This is the weirdest thing I have seen. I said to the girls I was sure we did not live in Australia. We spent 40 to 50 minutes searching for the animal. As I had my hazards on, several taxis stopped. When I said we were looking for a kangaroo they just asked me if I was alright.” The bizarre sighting occurred in Barton on the A603. Mr Tarjan, who lives in Cambridge, said they had trouble convincing Cambridgeshire Police about their find.



He said: “The girls in the back seat called the police – they did not believe us. But they finally sent two cars and when they saw the picture we had taken they started searching.” Jessica Wiltshire, one of the taxi’s passengers, said she thought it was hilarious. She said: “I quickly got my phone out and took a picture of it because I thought no-one was going to believe me.” A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said they had located the creature and contacted wallaby owners in the area but no-one reported theirs missing. Advice to the police from the RSPCA and Shepreth Wildlife Park had been to leave the animal where it was because it was probably wild, the spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Shepreth Wildlife Park said she had never heard of a wallaby being spotted in Cambridgeshire but it could be a descendant of those that escaped about 60 years ago from what is now ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire and have been living happily in the wilds in the area ever since. She said: “It could be a private collector that lost one or it could be one of these ones that has decided to make its way across country.” Wallabies usually go around in groups called mobs or troops, she said. She said the best thing to do for anyone spotting the little chap was to leave him be. She added: “They will live on foliage and berries so there is plenty of food for them out there so they have nothing to worry about. It’s not the sort of thing a fox would go for – they have got quite a kick on them.”