Escaped kangaroo blocks Virginia highway after being chased by hunting dogs, officials say
Local law enforcement sprang into action Saturday morning after a kangaroo was spotted on a major highway in central Virginia.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched to the intersection of Thomas Nelson Highway and Oak Ridge Road near the unincorporated community of Arrington after receiving a report of a kangaroo blocking traffic.
"You never know what you are going to see on a weekend in Nelson County!" the sheriff’s office wrote, sharing snowy photos of the unlikely highway hopper.
Once on scene, deputies quickly determined the animal was injured. Photos appeared to show blood on the kangaroo’s paws.
Officers safely steered the kangaroo off the roadway and onto nearby private property before tracking down the animal’s owner, according to authorities.
"When the owner arrived, he shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart to subdue the animal," Nelson County Sheriff Mark Embrey told Fox News Digital.
With assistance from Virginia Conservation Police Officer Andrew Sundra, deputies were able to safely capture the injured kangaroo. The animal was returned to its owner and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the sheriff’s office.
"The Kangaroo has been returned to its owner, and is expected to make a healthy recovery!" the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office wrote. "We'd like to thank everyone who assisted our deputies with this very unusual incident!"
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Embrey said the female kangaroo had escaped from a private property several miles away after being chased by local hunting dogs. The dogs frightened the animal, causing it to leap over a containment fence.
At the time of the escape, the kangaroo was carrying her baby, known as a joey.
"This kangaroo was a female, and she had her baby 'joey' on her person," he said, "After jumping the fence, she dropped her baby a short distance from the owner's farm. The female kangaroo continued to be pushed by the local hunting dogs."
By the time the animal reached the highway, Embrey said, she had successfully outrun the dogs.
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Hours later, the department leaned into the moment with a tongue-in-cheek follow-up.
"We’ve already wrangled one rogue kangaroo today," the office wrote. "Let’s not turn Saturday night into an outback adventure, mates."
The incident echoes a similar escape last April, when a runaway kangaroo forced the closure of an Alabama interstate highway.
That animal was later captured by state troopers and its owner after being involved in a two-vehicle crash.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.