How do kangaroos escape from the petting zoo?
It’s not the opening line of a dad joke. If you are a kangaroo chessman, you can climb an eight-foot (2 1/2 meter) fence and Go on the lam for three days, giving your guard sleepless nights and sending the residents of a small Wisconsin town on a search that ends happily on Saturday.
The unprecedented jump at Sunshine Ranch in Nesida, Wisconsin, last week was precipitated by some stray dogs that ran into the barn and frightened 16-month-old Chesney, said ranch keeper Debbie Marland. Then she and her friends took a trip here and there in this city about 160 miles (255 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.
They chased reports of sightings and even hired them Heat-seeking dronesWhich has proven effective in narrowing down the roaming range of the high jump adventurer.
“I was walking about 37,000 steps a day looking for him,” Marland said Sunday. “I haven’t done much exercise in a very long time.”
Chesney and his roommate Kenny are named after them Country music starKenny Chesney. They are among 25 animals at Sunshine Farm, along with horses, sheep, alpacas and kunecon pigs. Highland cows And a Bactrian camel. The farm is generally open Friday through Sunday from mid-May through mid-November and tours are offered to visitors who can interact with the animals.
Chesney fled around 11:15 a.m. last Wednesday. Although he stayed within a three-mile (5 km) radius of the farm, he kept his pursuers guessing.
Colton Johnson, owner of Midwest Aerial Drone Services, has used heat-sensing drones to help hunters recover deer and reunite lost dogs with their owners. Add kangaroo to the list.
Johnson spent three days trailing Chesney alongside Marland and a team of volunteers. His strategy was similar to the one he uses to find missing pets, but Johnson said the appearance of Chesney’s heat signature on the drone footage was unique.
“It looked like a dinosaur running through the forest,” Johnson said. “It has a long tail, and the way it moved and jumped is the only way I can describe it.”
The team caught up with Chesney on Wednesday and again on Thursday evening, but Johnson said the frightened kangaroo slithered away — once by jumping into a cold river — and Johnson lost track of the drone.
According to Marland’s friend, Stacey Brereton, who routinely helps out on the farm, Friday was a tough day. No one had spotted Chesney all day, and researchers fear he may have wandered further into unfamiliar territory, Brereton said.
Then, Friday night, Chesney was discovered hiding under a tree in a wooded area. A group of searchers surrounded him, but a fleet of feet – 20 mph (32 km/h) was not a stretch for him – Chesney eluded them.
Marland returned to the area Saturday morning with Chesney’s favorite candy and pieces of material that bore his and Kenny’s scent. Other researchers joined her later. But with no sign of the kangaroo, they started packing up. Just then, they spotted the long-eared kangaroo with huge hind legs approaching.
Brereton stepped up with a delicate touch.
“His demeanor was very calm when he came up, and you could obviously tell he wasn’t in fight or flight mode, so I agreed to that,” Brereton said. “I just stayed calm with him and went and sat down and let him come to me.”
Brereton, who eventually recovered the 40-pound (18-kilogram) animal, said Chesney heard the noises and wanted attention.
“I think he heard our comforting voices and smelled the familiar smells of home, which made him feel safe,” Brereton said, adding, “I’m glad he loves me as much as I love him.”
“The community really came together” for the kangaroo, which is now a celebrity, Marland said. A Sunshine Farm fan has written a children’s book about Chesney’s adventures, and Marland hopes to publish and sell it to recoup some of the research costs.
Kenny, who runs Marland House with his fellow marsupial, was thrilled to meet Chesney. Despite being hungry and tired, Chesney was healthy but will have a check-up at the vet soon.
To be safe, a new overhead net will be placed over the kangaroo enclosure to prevent further high jumps, Marland added. ___ Associated Press writer Savannah Peters in Edgewood, New Mexico, contributed.