Pet kangaroo on the hop for nearly 3 weeks found in Florida; owner is cited

A pet kangaroo that escaped its enclosure in Florida in mid-October has been found and returned home. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) located the kangaroo Wednesday after it was seen in a fenced-in area, FOX 35 reported. 

Residents of the small town of Pierson in Volusia County, have been keeping an eye out for the animal since it escaped Oct. 17 after a bear entered its enclosure. One woman even put up signs for drivers to watch out for a kangaroo hopping across streets. 

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all,” wrote Sheriff Mike Chitwood in a post on X Oct. 17. “The Town of Pierson is hopping tonight.” 

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Chitwood shared a screenshot from the Pierson Community Page on Facebook, showing a kangaroo hopping along a road. Pierson is north of Orlando. 

“The FWC investigator and the kangaroo’s owner responded to the location where the kangaroo was successfully captured and returned to its home after being bedded down in heavy cover,” FWC’s Kristen Turner said in a statement, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 

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The kangaroo’s owner was cited for having an expired license for an exotic animal, improper caging and failing to notify FWC within 12 hours of the animal’s escape, according to FOX 35. 

Resident Tamara Dubberly was able to get video on her phone of the kangaroo hopping through a wooded area shortly before it was caught. 

“When everybody was freaking out about it at first, I was like, ‘It’s a kangaroo.’ Like, we’ve all been to the zoo, we’ve seen it,” Dubberly told FOX 35. “But then, like actually seeing it up close, it’s not something you see every day. So, it’s like, you know, it’s cool.”

The FWC said that while kangaroos don’t pose a threat to other species, “they are strong and may defend themselves if they feel threatened,” FOX 35 reported. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to FWC for comment. 

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.