SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By AP
Tuskegee, Alabama: A runaway kangaroo named Sheila shut down a stretch of highway before state troopers and the animal’s owner captured her.
The state law enforcement agency said the kangaroo was spotted on Tuesday, Alabama time, hopping along the side of Interstate 85 in Macon County, which is between Montgomery and Auburn.
The sight snarled traffic, and state troopers shut down both sides of the highway for the safety of motorists.
The animal’s owner and troopers were able to capture it, Captain Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.
“When somebody said there was a kangaroo, of course I didn’t believe it, and nobody believed it. But I’m looking at him,” Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson said in a Facebook video as the animal was captured.
The owner used a dart to tranquillise the animal.
Sheila caused chaos on the interstate.Credit: AP/Austin Price
Brunson’s video showed the drugged kangaroo being carried to a vehicle to be returned to its home. The animal was captured on the side of the highway between Tuskegee and Auburn, the sheriff said.
“We see a little bit of everything here,” the sheriff said.
The animal’s owner, Patrick Starr, said the kangaroo’s name was Sheila and that she escaped from her enclosure.
“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated any more. She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Starr said.
Sheila was treated by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he said.
The family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, but Sheila is just a personal pet, Starr said.
“She’s a sweet pet. I’m glad she’s back home, and I’m glad everybody slowed down a little bit,” he said.
Austin Price, who took video of the animal hopping down the highway, said he had to briefly question if he was seeing things.
“I hear my grandmother yell, ‘Is that a kangaroo?’ ” Price said.
He assumed it was probably a deer until he looked. “And yeah, it’s a kangaroo.”
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