Kangaroo escapes from Jerry Smith’s Farm in Kenosha County, wanders down Highway L



KENOSHA COUNTY -- The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department responded to the area of Highway L and 72nd Avenue in Somers Thursday morning, September 14th for a report of a loose kangaroo. He made a run for it -- but a deputy was hot on his tail.

"It was an unexpected wake-up call!" Joe Smith said.

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Joe Smith



Smith said he was getting ready for the busy season at the farm, with his dad in a forklift, sipping his morning coffee with his son and planning his Thursday. That's when he heard something he's never heard before.

"He looked out the window and said 'there's a Kangaroo out in the yard,'" Jerry Smith said.

It was determined that that the kangaroo exited its confine from Jerry Smith’s Farm, located at 7150 18th Street, possibly by kicking the confine gate. The kangaroo decided to wander west on Highway L.



Jerry Smith



"One way or another little Joey got out. That's his name -- Joey. He's five years old," Smith said.

Joey, from Australia, is one of two kangaroos making a guest appearance at the farm this fall.

"This particular kangaroo was hand reared," Steve Pulera, head animal wrangler at Jerry Smith's Farm. "He went through one open gate, the one gate that was open and meandered westward."



He didn't make it far down Highway L.

Jerry Smith's Farm



"I mean, I think it was good timing. There was a little bit of fog here," Pulera said.

Pulera said Joey was moving slowly because of the fog and a deputy caught up to him quickly.

A tired Joey the kangaroo after his big adventure



A tired Joey the kangaroo after his big adventure



"So all I had to do was go up for the snatch," Pulera said.

Jerry Smith’s Farm was contacted and five-year-old Joey the kangaroo was safely returned to the farm without any injury to anyone.