German police capture rogue kangaroo

Police in North Rhine-Westphalia are used to corralling the odd loose sheep, cow or horse, but this weekend's kangaroo was "definitely a first", a spokesperson said on Monday. The kangaroo has been taken to safety at a local animal park after it was found on Sunday hopping across the road, yet no one in the area around Kalkar in North Rhine-Westphalia has come forward to claim the animal.


Photo by Andreas Wegener.

"We have received many tips as to where kangaroos are kept in the area, though none of them have reported any of their animals missing," Kleve police spokesperson Schmickler said. "All of their kangaroos are home and accounted for." Police got a call on Sunday regarding an exotic animal seen on Römerstrasse, just outside of the town of Kalkar, 60 kilometres north west of Duisburg. Upon arrival, police found a lone kangaroo.


Photo by Andreas Wegener.

"We didn't believe the call ourselves," a police commissioner said. "But there really was a kangaroo, crouched four metres from the street in the bushes. We secured the road, and then it suddenly hopped quickly away." The kangaroo managed a 100 metre sprint before the police hit it with a tranquilizer dart. "You really can't believe how fast a kangaroo on the run is – it ran as fast as a racing dog." Schmickler said a local veterinarian was also on hand to help take the animal into custody.


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It was obviously well cared for and well fed, "even a little fat," she said. "We're a very rural area here, and so we're often called to help with sheep, cows or horses who have run off, but this was definitely a first for our officers," Schmickler said. Kangaroos can legally be held as pets in Germany, Schmickler said, providing the home has plenty of space for them to hop around in. As it waits for the owners to come forward, the kangaroo is being well taken care of. Anyone missing a kangaroo is encouraged to claim their pet by calling the Kleve police.