'Fugitive' Kangaroo Caught in Pasco

Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies do more than patrol Land O’ Lakes streets looking for bad guys. Sometimes they chase after “fugitives” that are furry and hop.

That was the case this weekend when a 200-pound, 5-foot tall kangaroo led deputies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers on a chase through East Pasco County that began Saturday night and ended Sunday afternoon.

The runaway kangaroo was caught June 2 in Lacoochee, said Melanie Snow, spokeswoman for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

The kangaroo had been “on the run since last night (Saturday),” Snow said in an email to media. “This kangaroo has led our deputies on a lengthy chase in Lacoochee.”

The crafty critter was first spotted off Mickler Road in Lacoochee, which is in the Dade City area, and is now being held in a pen in the Cumber Road area, Snow said.

While it’s unclear at this time who owns the kangaroo, Snow said a family in the area does own a kangaroo farm. That family, however, has “not claimed the kangaroo as their own,” Snow added.

It’s legal for people with proper permits to own kangaroos in Florida.

Do you know who owns the kangaroo? Call the sheriff’s office’s non-emergency line at 727-844-7711.

***

Keep up with what’s happening around town and nearby by signing up for the Land O’ Lakes Patch daily email newsletter.