Kangaroo keeps Wis. authorities hopping

updated 5:18 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2005

DODGEVILLE, Wis. - A kangaroo that went on a walkabout in frigid Wisconsin was captured Wednesday. But where the marsupial came from remained a mystery.

Sheriff’s deputies cornered the 150-pound kangaroo in a barn after receiving calls for several days from shocked residents who had seen it hopping about.

Officials from Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, about 45 miles away, planned to pick it up and take care of it.

Zoo director Jim Hubing said the kangaroo would not have survived long in the Wisconsin winter. Temperatures in the animal’s native Australia generally do not drop below the 30s.

Sheriff Steve Michek said some people who spotted the kangaroo were hesitant to report it “because they didn’t want to be made a fool of.”

He said the animal might have escaped as someone was bringing it through the county.

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