Call off the search!
The denim-diaper wearing kangaroo who pulled a “full-on prison break” from a small-town Wisconsin zoo last week, was found safe and sound Saturday after three days on the lam.
Chesney the kangaroo escaped from the Sunshine Farm petting zoo in Necedah — located 90 miles away from Madison, WI — on Wednesday, after hopping an eight-foot fence and fleeing.
The roo’s keeper, Debbie Marland, said the community heartwarmingly came together for a wide-scale search for 16-month-old Chesney — hiking about 160 miles and putting in over 37,000 steps a day to find him.
Chesney was spotted by volunteers multiple times throughout the search — but the frightened animal continued to slip out of sight.
The furry escapee was tracked by heat-sensing drones during his three-day adventure to help direct on-the-ground volunteers.
“It almost looked like a dinosaur running through the woods,” Colton Johnson, who owns Midwest Aerial Drone Services, said of one Chesney sighting.
The kangaroo was spotted on Friday night under a tree in a wooded area by a group of searchers, but once again, he escaped.
Marland and volunteers returned to the same area the following morning with Chesney’s favorite treats, but they were unable to find him.
As they began to pack up their search, they miraculously spotted the long-eared marsupial approaching.
“He had a very calm attitude when he walked up, obviously you could tell he wasn’t in fight-or-flight mode, so I just went with that,” said Marland’s friend, Stacey Brereton.
“I just stayed calm with him and I just kind of went and sat and let him come to me,” Brereton said.
Chesney heard the voices of the searchers and wanted attention, Brereton said, who was able to scoop up the little roo in her arms.
The critter’s keeper said “the community really did come together” for the 40-pound animal who has become a bit of a celebrity in their small town.
The kangaroo returned home hungry and tired, but was otherwise unscathed.
Marland said a new mesh top will be placed over Chesney’s enclosure to prevent any more prison-breaks from happening.
With Post wires
