Any creature of the zoo that has the composure and directional wherewithal to mind the lines on a paved road once they’ve escaped captivity deserves mad props. This red female kangaroo fled the Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand, and had no issues blending right in with the flow of traffic.
That’s some impressive speed right there! Whoever shot this footage was going along at a decent pace, and our lady kangaroo managed to stay out in front before moving to a presumably less hazardous terrain. The Bangkok Post reported that zookeepers were cleaning the kangaroo’s cage when she suddenly made a run — pardon, a hop — toward the door, and they were powerless to stop her despite their best efforts.
Here’s to hoping the two-year-old female is safe wherever she ended up. It looked like she veered off the road and into a residential area. You can see a dog at the tail end of the video kind of scramble around. If I were a simple dog in Thailand, and I saw an Australian kangaroo barrelling toward my general vicinity, I too wouldn’t know how to react but to be scared. No way that dog has seen a kangaroo in his or her life before.
According to PBS, kangaroos live in big groups known as mobs and they’re very sociable. Look at how massive this mob was on a golf course in Melbourne back in March:
We have kangaroos on our 2 courses at Heritage Golf & Country Club, but I’ve never seen this before!!@AndyMaherDFA @MarkAllenGolf @BaronPhilbert @mikeclaytongolf @flushingitgolf @GolfloverUK @OfficialTourPro @GolfAust pic.twitter.com/ZtMO0C0UHu
— Stephen Roche (@StephenRoche100) March 6, 2024
Thus, it makes me a little sad that this young marsupial escapee is by her lonesome. She lives among a group of 23 kangaroos at the zoo, and has to be a little fearful trying to navigate the wide world without any friends to lean on. Hopefully residents can track her down, and somebody can get her back to her clan.
Back in February, a big kangaroo was on the loose at an apartment complex in Florida before being rescued and returned to its owner. That gives me a glimmer of optimism that this story will end well, too.
