Ever since i joined i have always been able to leave the explore map at any point on the map by simply clicking the lit up portal along the side. But for some reason today everytime i leave the portal on the map the light goes away on the side portal and i can't get out unless i move over to the portal on the map face.

Edit: I forgot to mention that it happens with all my pets, not just a single one, if that helps at all.

Hopefully that made sense as i am really tired right now.

You had Premium until now. When you join the site, you get 2 weeks free Premium to test. One of the perks includes that you can leave the island from anywhere. 

Apparently today the 2 weeks ran out, so now you have to walk to the portal before you can exit the island.

The (other) Premium perks according to the FAQ are: 

• Premium users can set Triggers.
• Premium users see maneuvers that are currently selected by your opponents at the Battlefield.
• Premium users get Inbreeding Warning when trying to breed pets that are close relatives.
• Normal users can perform searches only among pets which are being traded. Premium users can search among all pets. This can be useful if you're looking for a pet with special traits and want to buy it from another Keeper who didn't put this pet up for trade.
• Normal users only see a pet's mother and father. Premium users have access to full genealogy.
• Premium users can instantly leave the island from any point of the map. Normal users need to move to the portal tile frst.

The ability to leave islands from any point, not just the portal, is a premium member feature. Every new member gets a free two weeks of premium membership and checking your profile I can see that the two weeks just ended. So, not a bug, just the premium preveiw expiring.

PS Maybe a moderator should move this to the help section.

Grrr, ninja'd. This is what comes of not refreshing before I post my comment.

Oh okay, thanks guys ^^ someone can lock or delete this thread then.