Escaped kangaroo punches police officer's face before capture in Canada
A kangaroo that had been on the run for several days in Canada was captured by police on Monday, shortly after the animal punched an officer in the face during an attempt to catch it.
A pair of kangaroos were being transported in a truck to a zoo in Quebec on Thursday when, during a rest stop at the Oshawa Zoo and Fun Farm in Ontario, a 4-year-old female kangaroo jumped over her handlers' heads and escaped, park supervisor and head keeper for the Oshawa Zoo and Fun Farm Cameron Preyde told CBC.
A search for the animal, which was born and raised in captivity, began Friday morning and continued through the weekend. There were several unconfirmed sightings over the weekend, but the kangaroo was not found during that time.
CANADIAN MAN GETS LIFE IN PRISON FOR ‘INCEL’-RELATED MASSAGE PARLOR MURDER RULED A TERRORIST ACT
On Monday at around 3 a.m., Durham Regional Police responded to what they described as a "roo-tine" patrol on a rural property in northern Oshawa outside Toronto, where officers spotted the marsupial "taking a little break" after watching it for about four hours, police said in a news release.
The officers snuck up behind the animal and grabbed its tail, which is how police were advised to capture the kangaroo after getting in touch with its handlers. The kangaroo, however, took issue with officers attempting to grab it and punched one of them in the face.
The rookie officer was not seriously injured in the incident.
WILD ‘SUPER PIGS’ IN CANADA ARE SPREADING OUT OF CONTROL AND MAY SOON THREATEN THE US
"It's something that he and his platoon mates will be remembering for the rest of their careers," Staff Sgt. Chris Boileau told CBC.
After the attack on the officer, the kangaroo gave up and surrendered peacefully to officers. She rode in a police K9 kennel back to the zoo where she will stay for a few days for examination and recovery.
Police said she will travel to her original destination of Quebec in the near future.
"We're going to keep her here for a little while longer, let her rest up and make sure she is safe," Preyde said.