A kangaroo punched an officer in the face after he grabbed its tail, as the animal ran away in rural areas east of Toronto.
Cameron Preyde, manager of the Oshawa Zoo and Happy Farm in Ontario, said the female kangaroo escaped late on November 29 during transport to the Quebec zoo.
Residents saw it running along a road in Oshawa, a town on Lake Ontario, on November 30. Sergeant Chris Boileau said police patrolling spotted the kangaroo at 3 a.m. on December 4 in the rural area of North Oshawa, east of Toronto.
Police contacted the handler and, as instructed, grabbed the animal by the tail. The animal punched an officer in the face during the chase. “This is something he and his teammates will never forget,” Boileau said with a laugh.
Police capture kangaroo in east Toronto. Photo: Durham Police
Police captured the animal and it is being kept at the Oshawa Zoo for a few days to be cared for. "We're going to keep it for a while longer, to rest it and make sure it's safe," Preyde said.
Dr George Wilson, from the Australian National University, said that when confronted, kangaroos would "stand on their hind legs and attack". "If it comes from a zoo, it is used to people and confronts them," he said.
Wilson said the kangaroo's main defence mechanism was kicking and could be "dangerous" if they were determined to confront. "They will use their tails to balance, use their hind legs and kick anything that is attacking them, including dogs or other kangaroos, when they want to gain the upper hand," he said.
Kangaroos also punch with their front paws. "The image of a man boxing with a kangaroo used to be an iconic Australian image," Wilson said. According to Dr. Wilson, the escaped kangaroo was probably a red kangaroo, which lives in arid regions of Australia where rainfall is less than 600 mm a year.
Hong Hanh (According to Reuters )
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