Woman snaps picture of elusive wallaby

KALIHI, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - For the first time in years, the elusive Hawaii wallaby has been spotted.

Kalani Higa was able to snap a picture of a wallaby while she and her boyfriend were driving down the Likelike Highway Tuesday night when they spotted the animal across from Valley View Drive.

The two stopped to feed it some snacks.

"I was surprised. I heard stories from my grandpa when I was a little girl, but I never saw one until now," Kalani Higa said. "It seemed pretty friendly. It didn't run away."

Another wallaby was captured in Foster Village 11 years ago and eventually released back into the wild.

Wallabys date back almost a century in Hawaii. A pair escaped from a private zoo and started a colony in Kalihi Valley.

The state says they are not hurting the environment and that it is against the law to hunt them.

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