A runaway kangaroo forced the closure of an Alabama interstate highway in a bizarre incident captured on video.
Footage showed the animal hopping along Interstate 85 in Macon County on Tuesday, between Montgomery and Auburn, before it was captured by state troopers and its owner.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the marsupial had been involved in a two-vehicle crash.
“Eventually both the southbound and northbound lanes of Interstate 85 near the 46-mile marker were closed while Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Highway Patrol Division along with the animal’s owner conducted a recovery of the kangaroo,” it said in a statement. “The animal has now been recovered, and the roadway is back open. The kangaroo was not injured in the crash.”
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The kangaroo, named Shiela, was tranquilized with a dart.
The animal’s owner, Patrick Starr, told The Associated Press that Sheila escaped from her enclosure.
“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated anymore. She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Starr said.
The kangaroo was treated by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he said.
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Starr’s family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, but Sheila is just a personal pet, he added.
Austin Price, who took the video of the kangaroo hopping down the interstate, told the AP he had to briefly question if he was seeing things.
“I hear my grandmother yell, ‘Is that a kangaroo?’ ” Price said.
He added that he assumed it was probably a deer until he looked. “And yeah, it’s a kangaroo.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
