Witness recalls shock of seeing loose kangaroos
MADISON (WKOW) — Four kangaroos escaped from a vehicle on the interstate near Portage on Sunday.
CJ Rouse thought he was seeing a deer at first.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is the strangest deer I’ve ever seen in my life.’ But as I look closer, what I thought was a leg was a big old tail,” Rouse said.
He quickly realized what he was actually seeing.
“I called my mom right away and let her know — she was pretty shocked to hear that,” Rouse said.
State patrol troopers say the kangaroos got loose around noon on Sunday near Portage when their owner stopped to transfer them between vehicles. Two of those kangaroos were hit and killed, with Rouse seeing the aftermath of one of those accidents.
One kangaroo was recovered by the owner. The last kangaroo has not been found, and it’s unclear if a search is ongoing.
“While in Wisconsin we’re very used to looking out and identifying where deer might be, I don’t know if a lot of drivers know how to anticipate a kangaroo jumping onto the road,” Rouse said.
This isn’t the first time a kangaroo has been on the loose in rural Wisconsin this year. Back in March, Chesney the kangaroo escaped Sunshine Farm in Juneau County and was happily reunited with his owner two days later.
Right now, control over owning exotic animals is left up to local governments rather than the state. Some people are now wondering what is being done to protect these animals.
“Maybe after a few more of these stories, legislators get interested. But who knows?” Rouse said.