A kangaroo bouncing through a busy Florida city? It’s 2020. Why not?
We’re living in a pandemic, masks are chic, toilet paper is a luxury item so Floridians going about their day in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday should expect to see a kangaroo bouncing through neighbourhoods and traffic.
Right?
The marsupial, let’s call him Skippy, was eventually cornered by multiple police vehicles.
STRANGE SIGHT: Officers have captured a kangaroo that was spotted in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood pic.twitter.com/Nv2gqOEa6y
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) July 16, 2020
We all needed some happy 🦘news this Thursday 📺 🎥 @FLPD411 took the wandering little guy into custody 😜 AKA: The Fort Lauderdale Police Dept Barn #KangarooOnTheLoose #ThankYouFLPD. More @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/dA5KJg0Rwo
— Vanessa Morales (@NewsDeskChica) July 16, 2020
Proving he was a true Aussie gentleman, Skippy did not resist arrest and allowed two police officers to pick him up and place him in the back seat of a squad car.
Fort Lauderdale police were so chuffed they described him as their “newest mate”.
Who caught a glimpse of #FLPD’s newest mate hoping through our community this morning?
Officers in District 2 worked together to safely capture this kangaroo and turn it over to the South Florida Wildlife Center. pic.twitter.com/y4rZ5QQApS
— Fort Lauderdale Police (@FLPD411) July 16, 2020
Instead of tossing him in a station lock-up cell with drug dealers and other undesirables, Skippy received five-star accommodation in the cop shop stables.
“This morning we received a call he was jumping around our community,” Sergeant DeAnna Greenlaw said.
“Our officers responded to the scene, took him into custody, transported him here to our stables where he is safe and sound while Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducts their investigation.
The kangaroo is safe and now in the custody of @MyFWC pic.twitter.com/vTWxzpuBlD
— Fort Lauderdale Police (@FLPD411) July 16, 2020
“He will later be turned over to their care.”
Skippy’s owners might be in hot water.
The @MyFWC will be taking care of the kangaroo rescued from wandering the streets of the city this morning. Fort Lauderdale code does not allow exotic animals like this within the city limits. @FTLCityNews @wsvn @CBSMiami @WPLGLocal10 @nbc6 @AC360 @ABC pic.twitter.com/n06Cg58xr6
— Fort Lauderdale Police (@FLPD411) July 16, 2020
It is illegal for “exotic animals” like Skippy to be within Fort Lauderdale city limits.
AAP