Three kangaroos escaped from a private enclosure in Givskud in eastern Jutland on Tuesday, and the owner says they will be extremely hard to recapture.
According to reporting by DR, the three animals belong to Lasse Stærdal Simonsen. When he went out to check on them on Tuesday morning, the gate to the enclosure stood open. The kangaroos were gone.
Several residents in Givskud saw the animals hopping around during the day. A passer-by filmed one of the escaped kangaroos on video near the village. Neighbors also posted about the sightings on Facebook.
The owner told DR that he was fed up with the situation, and that it was not what he had intended. He said he was glad people reacted calmly and wanted to help bring the animals home.
Simonsen was not optimistic about a quick recovery. He said kangaroos are fast once they decide to leave, and that he has taken part in earlier attempts to catch escaped kangaroos. Those attempts did not always succeed.
He has not given up entirely. As stated by Simonsen to DR, there is a chance if someone manages to shut the animals inside a machine shed or a barn. In open countryside, he said, there is practically no chance.
Police will not intervene for now
South-East Jutland Police confirmed to DR that they had been informed the kangaroos were loose. As long as the animals do not pose a traffic hazard, the police do not intend to take action. No road closures or warnings were issued.
Local newspaper Vejle Amts Folkeblad reported on September 22 that Simonsen did not know how the animals had got out of the enclosure. Per the newspaper, he discovered the escape on Tuesday morning and later travelled to Givskud after receiving a report of a sighting.
Ekstra Bladet places the escape north of Vejle, in the area between Billund and Vejle. Givskud is a village in Vejle Municipality in eastern Jutland.
Kangaroos are Australian marsupials and are kept in Denmark in animal parks and in private enclosures. The three animals in Givskud were held privately, according to DR. As of DR’s report on Wednesday, September 23, they had not been recovered.
Simonsen said publicly that the most important thing for him is getting the three animals back. He asked for help from people in the area who might be able to contain them indoors.
