After Punching a Cop and 4 Days on the Loose, an Escaped Kangaroo Has Been Captured
Dec. 5 2023, Published 3:46 p.m. ET
Films like Kangaroo Jack have given kangaroos a fearsome reputation in pop culture, but in 2023, some people discovered what it's like to encounter these sturdy marsupials in real life.
A four-year-old female kangaroo is resting in a zoo in Oshawa, Canada, after spending a weekend on the loose in neighborhoods east of Toronto.
The escaped kangaroo was captured by police on Dec. 4, 2023, but she managed to punch one of the officers during the capture, CBC News reports. Here are the details on the kangaroo that was on the loose in Canada for four days.
A kangaroo escaped a truck taking her to a zoo, and remained on the loose for four days.
According to CBC News, the kangaroo was being transported to a Quebec zoo when animal handlers it made a pit stop at the Oshawa Zoo for the night on Dec. 1. While the kangaroo was being unloaded, she "jumped over its handlers" and took off, Oshawa Zoo park supervisor Cameron Preyde told CBC News.
"And now I have the illustrious job of going out and trying to wrangle this thing in the middle of farm fields in the middle of a snowstorm," Preyde said.
A father and son were on their way to school when they were surprised to see the kangaroo hopping on the side of the road. “It was a little bit of an odd start to our morning. Who expects to see a kangaroo, especially in this part of the world,” Paul Rellinger told CBC News.
Over the weekend, numerous sightings of the marsupial were reported, but rescuers had difficulty tracking her down. They were concerned for her safety since she was raised in captivity and, therefore, not accustomed to being in the wild.
"I think she would have been quite scared," Preyde told CBC Toronto. "This is an animal ... that has been used to having humans around taking care of her."
The kangaroo was captured when police officers grabbed her tail.
After four days on the run, officers with the Durham Regional Police Service were able to catch the kangaroo by grabbing onto her tail, which they were told was the best technique to catch a kangaroo safely, the police department said in a press release.
“The kangaroo gave up and surrendered peacefully to police officers,” the Durham Regional department stated in a Facebook post. But that’s not quite the whole story. CBC News reported that, during the capture, the kangaroo got a jab in at one of the officers.
"It's something that he and his platoon mates will be remembering for the rest of their careers," Staff Sgt. Chris Boileau told CBC Toronto.
Durham Regional officers received an outpouring of support from people who thanked them in comments on Facebook for their efforts in rescuing the kangaroo. The kangaroo will remain at the Oshawa Zoo for a few days of rest before she is transported to Quebec, her original destination.
