Wallabies spotted roaming around Thames Valley countryside

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A walker from Reading was shocked to find two wallabies roaming around the English countryside in the Thames Valley.

Brian Montague initially thought he had spotted deer while out and about near Henley this week.

As he got closer, he realised he was looking at wallabies, possibly a mother and her child.

The 40-year-old said: "I am quite good at spotting animals.

READ MORE: 'Kangaroo' spotted hopping down major Oxfordshire road

"At first, I thought it was a deer and took the phone out. But then I worked out it wasn't deer, it was two wallabies. I was really surprised.

"I didn't expect to see them around the Oxfordshire area."

The small mammal is usually associated with Australia and New Zealand, but sightings have become increasingly common in Britain.

Mr Montague added that this was the first time he had ever seen the animals and said: "I do a lot of walking in the Chilterns and I have never seen them.

"There is definitely a difference in size, and the way they were so close together, it just looked like a mother and a child.

"Then I just heard them disappearing and bouncing into the woods."

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This is not the first time this year that a wallaby has been spotted in Oxfordshire.

Back in May, a possible sighting happened on the A4130 at 3am with experts believing that the animal was probably an escapee.

The mammals, whose scientific name is Notamacropus rufogriseus, are native to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.

They are about as big as a medium-sized dog, with a grey-brown body and the kangaroo family’s characteristic two-footed hop.

Like all marsupials, they carry their young in a pouch.

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