The island of Inchconnachan brings up two questions. First, how long does it take an oddity to become a tradition, or for an imported species to become native? The other question is, what are wallabies doing in Scotland?
āInchconnachan is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. Yeah, the lake referred to in the song. Inchconnachan is only accessible by boat. In the 1940s, power boating racer Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran, had a menagerie of exotic animals, and for some reason took her wallabies to her summer home on Inchconnachan. They have since gone feral and have reproduced on the island. The wallabies, native to Australia, have become a Scottish legend.
The island was sold in 2021. The new owners are BBC presenter Kirsty Young and her husband Nick Jones, who plan to build a summer home there. But what about the wallabies? The couple are considering getting rid of the 60 or so feral wallabies, in order to protect the environment and discourage visitors to the island. Some who heard of the plan interpreted that to mean they would cull the wallabies instead of relocating them, and a petition was started to save the wallabies. Some people even object to relocating the animals. The exact fate of the wallabies is still up in the air, as Young and Jones must run any plan through authorities, as Inchconnachan is part of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. Read more about the island and its wallabies at BBC. -via Fark