The larger, furrier cousin of the Dama wallaby. A wallaby that is a pest. It stands about waist-high, with a thick, reddish-brown coat, a pale grey belly and a long, dark tail. The muzzle is black, and there is a pale stripe on the cheek. They look like something that should be bouncing across the Australian outback, not the tussock grasslands of the South Island. A wallaby that does not belong. These animals are the grazers of the high country. They eat tussock, grass, herbs and the new growth of native shrubs. Their browsing can damage fragile alpine ecosystems, and they compete with sheep and cattle for pasture. They are also excellent at hiding, freezing in the tussock when danger approaches and exploding into a bouncing run when approached too closely. Bennett's wallabies were brought to New Zealand for sport and for their fur. They established in the South Island and have been spreading slowly through the high country. Conservationists are worried about their impact on native plants, and there are ongoing efforts to control their numbers. To see a Bennett's wallaby is to see a furry invader. A big, red-brown, bouncing pest that does not belong in the tussock grasslands of the South Island. The wallaby's spread has been surprisingly slow for such a mobile animal. They arrived in the 1870s, but more than a century later, they still occupy only a fraction of the South Island. The reason may be climate. Bennett's wallabies are native to Tasmania, which has cooler summers and colder winters than mainland Australia. The South Island high country suits them perfectly. The high country is golden. The wallaby grazes on tussock, reddish-brown coat, black muzzle, pale stripe on the cheek. It freezes. It sees a human. It bounces away. It does not know it is a pest. It does not know it is an invader. It just wants to eat tussock. They have found their niche, and for now, they are staying put. That does not make them less of a pest. It just makes them a localised one. The Bennett's wallaby is proof.