kangaroo captured after days of mayhem in Lisbon streets
1 August 2024 08:51
Portuguese police services conducted an unusual intervention on Wednesday, 31 July. Officers apprehended a kangaroo roaming around the city. The animal had been hopping around the capital's agglomeration for several days, frightening both residents and tourists.
As reported on Wednesday evening by the Portuguese civil defence, the unusual species for Portugal was captured thanks to the residents of the Lisbon suburb of Aroeira, who provided authorities with precise information about the kangaroo's whereabouts.
kangaroo on the streets of Lisbon
While seeing a kangaroo in Australia wouldn't surprise anyone, encountering this animal on the loose in a European capital certainly causes significant surprise. Residents of Portugal's capital and surrounding areas, cited by local media, emphasised that the sight of the animal hopping around their streets not only surprised but also frightened them.
"We received multiple reports about a kangaroo hopping around the streets from frightened residents. They were worried that the animal could cause a traffic accident," communicated the command of the Portuguese gendarmerie. Residents also feared that the animal would attack someone.
The animal has been captured
On Wednesday, 31 July, a group of gendarmes and nature conservation workers finally caught the exotic visitor. The kangaroo was sedated and transported to a veterinary clinic. Its health condition is described as good. Gendarmerie representatives informed the media that they are trying to determine how the kangaroo ended up in Lisbon and are also looking for its owner.
Earlier, the kangaroo was seen in several villages of the Almada municipality, as well as at the popular tourist beach Fonte da Telha, which, among other things, features a golf club.
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