A grey kangaroo hops along a hill side at a conservation reserve near Taralga, south west of Sydney.Rob Griffith/The Associated Press
Ontario’s Solicitor-General says the province will investigate a kangaroo’s escape from its handlers east of Toronto during a journey to Quebec.
Michael Kerzner said it’s very important to look into how the kangaroo, whose name is Nathan, got away on Thursday during a pit stop at the Oshawa Zoo and roamed in the wild for the next three days before being apprehended on Monday.
Mr. Kerzner said it’s good news that the animal has been found.
Officers on patrol spotted the kangaroo at around 3 a.m. on Monday on a rural property in northern Oshawa, Staff Sergeant Chris Boileau of the Durham Regional Police Service told CBC Toronto.
They contacted the kangaroo’s handlers and grabbed it by the tail, as instructed, he said. The kangaroo punched one of the officers in the face during the capture, Staff Sgt. Boileau said.
“It’s something that he and his platoon mates will be remembering for the rest of their careers,” he told CBC Toronto.
Police have said a delivery driver transporting Nathan and another kangaroo last week had made a stop at the Oshawa Zoo so the animals could stretch their legs, but details on where exactly the animals were coming from and going to remain unclear.
Michèle Hamers, the wildlife campaign manager for the advocacy group World Animal Protection Canada, said Nathan’s escape highlights the major gaps in laws and regulations around captive wildlife.
Durham Region’s lost pet search group, Team Chelsea, was trying to help find the kangaroo and called Monday’s developments a “happy ending.”
– With files from Reuters