Kangaroo on the loose causes closure of highway in Alabama

A runaway kangaroo forced the closure of an Alabama interstate highway in a bizarre incident captured on video. 

Video footage depicted the animal bouncing along Interstate 85 in Macon County on Tuesday, traveling between Montgomery and Auburn, before being apprehended by state troopers and its owner.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the marsupial had been involved in a two-vehicle crash. 

“At one point, both the southbound and northbound lanes of Interstate 85 near the 46-mile marker had to be shut down while Troopers from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Highway Patrol Division, in collaboration with the animal’s owner, successfully retrieved the kangaroo,” a statement reported. “The kangaroo has been safely recovered, and the road is now open. Fortunately, the kangaroo did not sustain any injuries during the incident.” 

The kangaroo was eventually caught Tuesday in Alabama. (Austin Andrew Price via AP)

Starr’s family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, but Sheila is just a personal pet, he added. 

Austin Price, who took the video of the kangaroo hopping down the interstate, told the AP he had to briefly question if he was seeing things. 

“I hear my grandmother yell, ‘Is that a kangaroo?’ ” Price said. 

The kangaroo was involved in a vehicle crash, but it was not injured, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. (Austin Andrew Price via AP)

He added that he assumed it was probably a deer until he looked. “And yeah, it’s a kangaroo.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.