Missing wallaby found after three days on the run

Winnie escaped from her enclosure on the Glenpark Estate in Co Tyrone on Sunday evening.

A wallaby has been found safe and well after three days on the run in Co Tyrone (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Archive)

A wallaby has been found safe and well after three days on the run in Northern Ireland.

Large-scale searches were launched after Winnie was reported missing from the Glenpark Estate, near Omagh in Co Tyrone, on Sunday.

She hopped over a fence at about 3pm, and was last seen on the Gortin Road that evening.

Glenpark Estate owner Richard Beattie said she was discovered just after midnight on Thursday only 800 yards from where she disappeared.

She's happy as Larry this morning

Richard Beattie, Glenpark Estate

She was found in undergrowth using night vision and heat sensor equipment.

Mr Beattie told the PA news agency: “When you’re out sitting in a field, they bury into the grass, and the heat detector equipment picked her out.

“She was only about 800 yards from where she was last seen, just completely buried in foliage.

“She’s in absolutely perfect health. We had to net her and now she is back in her enclosure with Jeffrey (another wallaby). She’s happy as Larry this morning.”

Mr Beattie thanked all those who helped search for Winnie.

The Australian embassy in Ireland welcomed her safe return, tweeting: “Great news coming out of Co. Tyrone.”

The account earlier this week noted the search for the wallaby, commenting: “Well there’s a headline you don’t see every day. Hoping the little Wallaby makes it back safely.”