A dog walker was left stunned after coming across a wallaby in a secluded area of Stirling.
Carly Meaney had the bizarre encounter with the marsupial, native to Australia, at North Third Reservoir on Friday.
The small animal appeared unfazed as it approached the 27-year-old, who filmed the exchange on her mobile phone.
She spotted the animal grazing on some grass under a tree.
The inquisitive wallaby hopped towards Carly for a closer look.
She got to within touching distance of it, she can even be heard saying, “you need to run away or you’re going to be chased by the doggies”.
The clip of the encounter was uploaded on social media and has since gone viral.
Carly made a public appeal for the owner to be found and thousands shared the post to help reunite them with the wallaby.
She inquired if the wallaby had escaped from Blair Drummond Safari Park but later discovered that it had been reunited with its owners who live at a nearby farm.
Speaking about the experience, Carly said: “I’m a dog walker and was about to start my walk.
“I was about to get the dogs out the van then spotted the wallaby.
“I wasn’t sure what it was at first, I just thought it was some sort of marsupial.
“People kept sharing the video and tagging the owners of a farm close to where I saw the wallaby.
“The wallaby has been returned safe and sound.”
A wallaby is native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, UK and other countries.
An island in Loch Lomond is home to Scotland’s only colony of wild wallabies.
The animals have roamed on Inchconnachan, near Balmaha, since the 1940s.
