A pair of kangaroos escaped from a Texas wildlife rescue this week, prompting confusion and delight on social media.
Waco police received a call about the loose animals around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Photographs and videos circulated on social media and local news outlets of two kangaroos hopping down a Waco road.
Ben Christie, who founded the rescue, told Waco’s ABC affiliate KXXV the animals staged the jailbreak after an employee left multiple gates open.
“There’s nothing like getting a call about your kangaroos being outside of your gate,” Christie said. “I thought ‘Oh skibidy, what an excellent Tuesday evening this is.’”
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Police and firefighters helped corral the animals and return them to the wildlife rescue.
“It wasn’t your typical patrol, but we helped get a jump on the situation,” Waco police said on Facebook. “All escaped kangaroos are safely back home.”
Waco’s wildlife rescue helps care for and rehabilitate about 800 injured or orphaned animals from across Central Texas every year.
On social media, people wondered why there were kangaroos in Texas and applauded police and firefighters.
“Brings new meaning to ‘Sic ‘em!’” one person wrote, a play on Baylor University’s cheer. Another said, “Putting on my WACO BINGO card, Kangaroos.” One person asked, “Someone gotta telawindow to Australia in their backyard???”
This is not the first time a kangaroo has gotten loose in Texas, which is one of 14 states that allow private ownership of exotic animals, although rules vary depending on the county and city.
In 2023, Nigel the kangaroo went missing from his home in Granbury. A volunteer neighborhood search-and-rescue squad deployed drones to help find the marsupial. The same year, Jax the kangaroo escaped from a Prosper home before his owner captured him.