Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pierce County deputies trap wallaby on the run

This photo provided by the Pierce County Sheriff’s office shows officers capturing an escaped wallaby in Gig Harbor, Wash., Thursday.
The Associated Press
This photo provided by the Pierce County Sheriff’s office shows officers capturing an escaped wallaby in Gig Harbor, Wash., Thursday.

Pierce County sheriff deputies and animal control officers have caught a wallaby on the run in Gig Harbor. The animal had escaped from a nearby residence.

Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer says the wallaby jumped in front of a deputy's cruiser while he was on patrol Thursday.

Troyer says the deputy thought the animal was a kangaroo at first, but it was later determined to be a wallaby.

He says the "bugger" was fast and the deputy had to call back up. Eventually the wallaby — named Mia — was netted.

Troyer says deputies found the owners' residence nearby with "pretty good living conditions" and a pen, but no one knows how Mia escaped.

Troyer wasn't sure if wallabies are legal to own in unincorporated Pierce County.

The Associated Press (“AP”) is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from the AP. Founded in 1846, the AP today is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering. The AP considers itself to be the backbone of the world’s information system, serving thousands of daily newspaper, radio, television, and online customers with coverage in text, photos, graphics, audio and video.