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Phantom KangaroosPeriodically, reports of kangaroos, wallabies or their accompanying footprints have been made in places where one would not expect to hear of them--In other words, anywhere besides Australia and its surrounding islands. While generally scoffed at by the scientific community, several photographs of the "phantom kangaroos" are considered genuine by some. Some explanations put forth are escaped zoo or circus animals, or publicity stunts by local businesses using photographs from Australia. There is at least one verifiable example of a population of wild wallabies outside Australasia. Since World War II there has a been a colony of red-necked wallabies in the Peak District in England, the descendants of wallabies from a private zoo. The population reached about 50, but their numbers plunged during the severe winter of 1962-1963, and they were believed to have become extinct in the late 1990s There was a claimed sighting in 2000. However, there are reports of dozens of other wallabies living in the wild in Britain, having escaped from zoos or private collections. Another example reaches back even farther into the past. In the years before World War I, there was a colony of wallabies in Prussia, raised by a hunter living there. When he died, shortly before WWI, the kangaroos became easy prey to local deer hunters. See also: Forteana
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