A kangaroo freely hopping around Staten Island shocked the owners of an auto repair shop when they opened for business on Saturday, but its 15 minutes of freedom ended when New York City police cornered the animal.
The kangaroo, owned by a man living in upstate New York, escaped while the owner was staying at a home on Staten Island, authorities told
WCBS.
The kangaroo named Buster jumped its way to the parking lot of Alb's Auto Repair, owners shocking Urim and Blron Osmani.
"When we first came in the morning, we were just pulling the cars out, because we have other cars in the other shop ... and one customer was waiting outside, and he saw something – it looked like a deer," said Urim Osmani. "And when it jumped out, we see it's not a deer, it's a kangaroo."
"To see a kangaroo jumping around, like he just gets up – enjoying the freedom. He was jumping around the parking lot, and we thought we had to stop him somehow, and the guy called the police. Then right after we called the police came in, the kangaroo jumped inside the driveway that goes toward the back of the houses."
Buster, standing about four feet tall, was found bouncing around in a neighbor's yard before police surrounded him, said the
New York Daily News. That's when the kangaroo's owner showed up, who managed to subdue the animal.
"It looks like it's legal to possess a kangaroo where this man is from," a city police source told the Daily News. "Since he was visiting the area and was returning home today, there was no violation."
The owner and Buster were sent on their way after police consulted with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said WCBS.
"Something you never see every day," said Blron Osmani. "It was definitely fun."
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