Fugitive kangaroo that spent four days on the run after escaping while being transferred between zoos in Canada punches cop in the face before being caught
- The four-year-old female kangaroo escaped last Thursday while being transported from Ontario to a zoo in Quebec
- She punched an officer in the face before being successfully apprehended by officers
- The feisty marsupial was spotted in Oshawa, 65 kilometers east of Toronto, and is currently recovering at the Oshawa Zoo and Fun Farm in Ontario
A rogue kangaroo who punched a police officer in the face has been captured after four days on the run in Canada.
The four-year-old female marsupial escaped last Thursday while being transported from Ontario to a zoo in Quebec.
Handlers searched for the unnamed animal, born and raised in captivity, and received a report of a possible sighting in Oshawa, 40 miles east of Toronto.
After being educated on safe kangaroo trapping techniques, police officers were able to sneak up behind her and grab her tail.
The kangaroo wasn't going to go down without a fight and struck one of the officers in the face, giving her one last chance to escape.
Fortunately, the officer was not seriously injured and authorities decided not to “continue the investigation.”
The four-year-old female kangaroo escaped last Thursday while being transported from Ontario to a zoo in Quebec
The marsupial, born and raised in captivity, was spotted in Oshawa, 65 kilometers east of Toronto
The kangaroo punched one of the officers in the face, giving her one last chance to escape
The kangaroo escaped during a rest break at the Oshawa Zoo and Fun Farm in Ontario, where she jumped on the heads of her handlers and ran away.
“They tried to unpredictably load her into our warm facility and he jumped over them and ran across the road,” said Cameron Preyde, an Oshawa Zoo employee. Global National.
“It went into a farmer's field and at night this thing was very, very hard to find,” Preyde added.
The 'roo specter' lasted four days until Durham Regional Police received a reported kangaroo sighting on a rural property in northern Oshawa early Monday morning.
The escaped kangaroo was seen hopping around the area.
Officers located the kangaroo and monitored her activities for the next hour until she appeared to take a small break around the intersection of Wilson Road and Winchester Road.
“While doing this, the officers managed to sneak up behind her and grab her tail,” Durham Regional Police said in a statement.
“So in accordance with handler best practices, the officers simply grabbed the animal by the tail and were able to safely restrain her in the area,” said Staff Sgt. Chris Boileau said this on Monday.
The kangaroo escaped last Thursday during a rest break at the Oshawa Zoo and Fun Farm in Ontario, where she jumped on the heads of her handlers and ran away
Officers located the kangaroo and monitored her activities for the next hour until she appeared to take a small break around the intersection of Wilson Road and Winchester Road.
The four-year-old suddenly got up from the ground and tried to escape again, but she was eventually secured and placed on patrol
During the arrest, the kangaroo attacked an officer by punching him in the face, “but he will be fine and we will not continue the investigation,” Boileau added.
“The kangaroo gave up and peacefully surrendered to police officers,” authorities said, later releasing bodycam footage of the arrest.
In the video, an officer is heard saying, “You're doing well; it's all good,” trying to calm the animal.
The four-year-old suddenly got up from the ground and tried to escape again, but she was eventually secured and placed on patrol.
She is currently recovering at the Oshawa Zoo where she escaped and will travel to her original destination Quebec in the near future.