Post by Terry Fisk on Jan 7, 2005 0:03:21 GMT -6
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Iowa County deputies capture wandering kangaroo
01/05/05
By JENNY PRICE
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A kangaroo's frigid walkabout in Iowa County ended Wednesday after authorities tracked down the marsupial during heavy snowfall. But where the animal came from remained a mystery.
Sheriff's deputies corralled the 150-pound male kangaroo in a barn after receiving calls from shocked residents who had seen it in rural parts of Dodgeville. Janelle Simpson, 77, spotted it hopping across her yard Wednesday morning and called the sheriff's department.
"He was going a pretty good speed," she said. "I'm too old to be out chasing kangaroos."
The kangaroo, which is native to Australia's bush country where temperatures generally do not drop below the 30s, was wet from the snow but in good shape, said Jim Hubing, director of the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, where the animal was taken.
"It can't survive in this cold, particularly with lack of food," Hubing said.
Temperatures in the area hovered in the teens and 20s and there was between 1 and 3 inches of snowfall as of Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Deputies and volunteer firefighters herded the kangaroo into Simpson's empty horse barn. The barn's high stalls kept the animal from hopping to another escape before it was coaxed into a crate to ride in a heated van to the zoo.
"It appears to be very familiar with humans and is not afraid of them and didn't seem to be agitated," Hubing said.
Wednesday afternoon, the kangaroo enjoyed some of the zoo's "Happy Hopper" special diet mix and some other greens. The kangaroo will undergo medical tests to make sure it is healthy.
Iowa County Sheriff Steve Michek said he still doesn't have any idea where the animal came from.
"Hopefully, it's not the case where somebody would have dumped it off or anything like that," he said.
State and federal laws don't prohibit people from keeping the animals as pets.
The zoo, which already has five red kangaroos and three wallabies, will keep the animal quarantined for at least 30 days. If an owner doesn't claim it, the kangaroo could remain at the zoo or possibly go to another facility, Hubing said.
Michek said some people who initially spotted the kangaroo Monday were hesitant to report it "because they didn't want to be made a fool of."
His department took the calls seriously because of the number of people who saw the animal.
Simpson was amazed by the kangaroo's presence.
"I asked the sheriff: 'What's going to be next, an elephant or something?'"
Iowa County deputies capture wandering kangaroo
01/05/05
By JENNY PRICE
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A kangaroo's frigid walkabout in Iowa County ended Wednesday after authorities tracked down the marsupial during heavy snowfall. But where the animal came from remained a mystery.
Sheriff's deputies corralled the 150-pound male kangaroo in a barn after receiving calls from shocked residents who had seen it in rural parts of Dodgeville. Janelle Simpson, 77, spotted it hopping across her yard Wednesday morning and called the sheriff's department.
"He was going a pretty good speed," she said. "I'm too old to be out chasing kangaroos."
The kangaroo, which is native to Australia's bush country where temperatures generally do not drop below the 30s, was wet from the snow but in good shape, said Jim Hubing, director of the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, where the animal was taken.
"It can't survive in this cold, particularly with lack of food," Hubing said.
Temperatures in the area hovered in the teens and 20s and there was between 1 and 3 inches of snowfall as of Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Deputies and volunteer firefighters herded the kangaroo into Simpson's empty horse barn. The barn's high stalls kept the animal from hopping to another escape before it was coaxed into a crate to ride in a heated van to the zoo.
"It appears to be very familiar with humans and is not afraid of them and didn't seem to be agitated," Hubing said.
Wednesday afternoon, the kangaroo enjoyed some of the zoo's "Happy Hopper" special diet mix and some other greens. The kangaroo will undergo medical tests to make sure it is healthy.
Iowa County Sheriff Steve Michek said he still doesn't have any idea where the animal came from.
"Hopefully, it's not the case where somebody would have dumped it off or anything like that," he said.
State and federal laws don't prohibit people from keeping the animals as pets.
The zoo, which already has five red kangaroos and three wallabies, will keep the animal quarantined for at least 30 days. If an owner doesn't claim it, the kangaroo could remain at the zoo or possibly go to another facility, Hubing said.
Michek said some people who initially spotted the kangaroo Monday were hesitant to report it "because they didn't want to be made a fool of."
His department took the calls seriously because of the number of people who saw the animal.
Simpson was amazed by the kangaroo's presence.
"I asked the sheriff: 'What's going to be next, an elephant or something?'"