Baby wallaby escapes Oklahoma petting zoo after dog unlatches gate, sets him free

A baby wallaby is on the loose in Oklahoma after a dog set him free, the animals’ owner said.

Roo, a 1-year-old marsupial, has evaded recapture since escaping his backyard enclosure in Blanchard, a city 30 miles south of Oklahoma City, Wednesday morning, according to city officials.

The 4-foot-tall wallaby may have jumped over the fence, but owner Gil Gilbreath thinks it more likely Roo hopped out of its open gate.

“It’s a chain link gate and I guess a dog must have hit the latch,” Gilbreath told Fox 25.

“I have a dog that likes to play with him through the fence.”

Roo had been living inside the backyard petting zoo, where Gilbreath said the animal typically acted friendly, though shy and “a little skittish.”

Neighbors have spotted Roo hopping through Blanchard in the last three days, but have not come close to the escape artist.

Gilbreath said he’s still working to tame the animal and as a result, “he’s going to be hard to catch when we find him.”

The owner suspects the young Australian native — which is similar to a kangaroo but smaller — is likely hiding out in the tall grass or thick woods that line the edge of town.

“He likes it and he likes to hide in it. I think he’s probably in there if he hasn’t moved on from this pasture somewhere,” he said.

Blanchard police are using a drone to track down Roo and push him out of hiding.

Animal control is also involved in the hunt, warning residents not to corner the animal, which is known to kick when threatened.

“If we can at least get him out in the open and get people to fence him into a smaller area so we can throw the net over him,” Liesl Welu with Blanchard Animal Control said.

It is legal to have wallabies as pets in Oklahoma with the right documentation.

With Post wires