The Americas



Zookeepers were astonished to find that a thief stole a baby kangaroo out of its mother’s pouch and then went on to steal four baby goats in the same daring raid on animals’ pen in Wisconsin.

Joey kangaroo stolen from his mother's pouch in US zoo

Joey kangaroo, like this one, was stolen from its mother’s pouch in a US zoo Image by Mrs Airwolfhound / CC BY 2.0

Joey and kid goats disappeared from Greenville’s Special Memories Zoo. The New York Daily News warned in its report that without their mothers’ sustenance, the babies could be in serious danger.

Gretchen Crowe, the head zookeeper, said she was shocked to find the five-month old red kangaroo joey and the Nigerian dwarf goat kids gone from their compounds last week.

She said the five animals had been settled into their pens the previous night following bottle-feeding.

The startling aspect of the stealing was that the baby kangaroo had been ripped out of its mother’s pouch, injuring her in the process, the zookeeper revealed.

She added that the only way to get a baby out of the pouch would be if someone forcibly removed the little animal.

Experts estimate that joeys need to be with their mothers until they are 12 months old.

All of the kid goats were being bottled fed and require constant attention. Ms Crowe said that without their moms’ care and attention from the zoo’s experts, all the animals’ lives would be in danger.

The zoo has urged the public to get in contact with them if they know of the animals’ whereabouts. People can call the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office at 920-832-5000