Mystery Kangaroo Is At Large In Austria, Confusing Everybody

A kangaroo of unknown origin is on the loose in Austria, raising eyebrows in the area around Hellmonsodt and causing confusion on the Internet.

Kangaroos are, of course, indigenous to Australia.

Austria is, of course, not Australia.

But there's a marsupial hopping about in Upper Austria, and no one knows why.

The suspected kangaroo — we add a caveat because it could well be a wallaby instead — has been seen "numerous times" over the past week or so, according to Agence France-Presse.

An unnamed local police officer in Hellmonsodt spoke to AFP, saying: "We have called all the zoos and kangaroo breeders around us, but no one is missing a kangaroo. We hope the owner will come forward."

"It sounds unbelievable, but it's true," the officer said.

Over the weekend, Ferdinand Kaineder shared a video on Instagram of a kangaroo hopping over a green field. The video, Kaineder said, was recorded by Thomas Kaufmann in nearby Kirchschlag bei Linz in Upper Austria.

On Tuesday, local authorities confirmed to the BBC that the mystery kangaroo is still at large.

This is not the first kangaroo in Austria — despite the fact that the country's tourist vendors sell a shirt that says, quite clearly, "No kangaroos in Austria."

In January 2015, a kangaroo named Anton escaped his owners and was located looking lost in the snow near Braunau.

In August 2016, a kangaroo — possibly a pet named Paul who escaped his Bavarian home during a thunderstorm — was spotted in the Muhlviertel region.

And in 2016, a kangaroo escaped captivity in Styria and dodged police for weeks.

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