Kangaroo's adventure in Lisbon ends with police capture

Portuguese police services conducted an unusual intervention on Wednesday, July 31. Officers apprehended a kangaroo roaming around the city. The animal had been hopping around the capital’s area for several days, frightening both residents and tourists.

As Portuguese civil defence reported on Wednesday evening, the unusual species for Portugal has been captured thanks to the residents of the Lisbon suburb of Aroeira, who provided authorities with precise information about the kangaroo’s whereabouts.

While seeing a kangaroo in Australia wouldn’t surprise anyone, encountering this animal on the loose in a European capital causes a significant surprise. Residents of Portugal’s capital and surrounding areas, cited by local media, emphasized 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.

On Wednesday, July 31, a group of gendarmes and nature conservation workers finally caught the exotic visitor. The kangaroo was sedated and transported to one of the veterinary clinics. 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 and at the popular tourist beach Fonte da Telha, which, among other things, features a golf club.