Escaped kangaroo punches officer in the face before being captured in Canada

Authorities said an escaped kangaroo was re-captured in Canada on Monday after four days on the loose — but not before the animal punched a police officer in the face.

Officers responded to a report of a kangaroo on the run in Oshawa, a city on the Lake Ontario shoreline east of Toronto, as videos surfaced online that appeared to show the marsupial hopping along public roads in that area. Having been instructed on the safest ways to capture a kangaroo, the officers approached and grabbed her by her tail, which was effective in the end, the Durham Regional Police said in a news release.

"The kangaroo gave up and surrendered peacefully to police officers," the release said. "Her four day adventure has come to an end and she will continue on with her journey to Quebec in the near future."

Officers Rescue Kangaroo on “Roo-tine” Patrol In response to a reported kangaroo sighting in the Winchester Rd E and...

Posted by Durham Regional Police Service on Monday, December 4, 2023

But, before the kangaroo was given a ride back to the zoo for medical exams in one of the police department's K-9 kennels, she did not immediately acquiesce to the officers' attempts to capture her, Staff Sgt. Chris Boileau told CBC Toronto. Boileau said officers initially spotted the missing animal on a rural property in Oshawa at around 3 a.m. Monday and monitored her for almost four hours. Although the kangaroo's handlers advised police to grab her tail, when they did, she punched one officer in the face.

"It's something that he and his platoon mates will be remembering for the rest of their careers," Boileau told CBC Toronto.

The kangaroo is about four years old, and she had been missing since last Thursday. While on a truck headed toward a zoo in Quebec that had parked at a rest stop along the way, the animal "jumped over" its handlers and ran off, said Cameron Preyde the park supervisor and head keeper for the Oshawa Zoo, in comments to CBC Toronto. The kangaroo is staying temporarily at the Oshawa Zoo.

"I think she would have been quite scared," Preyde told CBC Toronto, saying that, because the animal was born in captivity, she "has been used to having humans around taking care of her."

Preyde said the kangaroo will continue to stay at the Oshawa Zoo "for a little while longer" to "let her rest up and make sure she is safe."

In:
• Canada

Emily Mae Czachor

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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