Skittish wallaby who vanished from Tennessee zoo found after zookeepers spot tracks
UPDATE: Zoo officials said the wallaby was found on April 15 on zoo property after zookeepers followed tracks that led them to the animal. He is now at the hospital under observation to be examined by a veterinarian.
Original story below:
A wily zoo animal escaped its confines in Tennessee during a fierce storm, prompting a strange search among the century-old mansions that surround the Memphis Zoo.
The hard-to-ignore fugitive is an Australian marsupial known as a wallaby, which Tennesseans might mistake for a 6-foot-tall monster rabbit.
They are plant eaters, so there is little danger of someone being attacked. However, it could scare someone to death in the dark.
It went missing Wednesday, April 13, during a flash flood in the park’s KangaZoo exhibit, zoo officials explained in a Facebook post.
“Lick Creek runs around the exhibit and overflowed,” officials said. “All animals inside of KangaZoo were relocated to the animal hospital. Upon counting the animals, one wallaby was unaccounted for.”
A search began immediately, even as the storm raged, but the wallaby could not be found, officials said.
It remained missing a day later, forcing the zoo to enlist the help of city police in a broader search of Midtown Memphis.
“Wallabies are smaller in stature than kangaroos,” the zoo says. “They are gentle animals, but fairly (skittish). If spotted, please do not approach.”
The zoo’s post has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments, including concerns the wallaby might be struck in Midtown traffic.
“If it’s loose in Memphis, there’s a good chance it gets shot,” one man wrote.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Skittish wallaby who vanished from Tennessee zoo found after zookeepers spot tracks."
