/ 28 August 2007

Kangaroo no more on the run in German Alps

Skippi, a wily kangaroo on the run since early August, was returned to his home at a petting zoo Monday in southern Germany, but not after a chase through the German Alps that left the animal with a strained leg.

The injured marsupial was captured in a cornfield near Leutkirch im Allgaeu, almost 16km from where his journey began, police in the nearby town of Ravensburg said on Monday.

Though residents in the area had reported multiple sightings of the kangaroo over the past few weeks, Skippi managed to elude authorities every time.

But earlier on Monday, police received a call from someone claiming to have seen the animal in a cornfield not far from the last place he was spotted following a run-in with a car on Friday.

Authorities captured the kangaroo and brought him to a veterinarian, who determined he had strained ligaments in one of his legs. He was then returned to his home at the petting zoo in Bad Wurzach. — Sapa-AP