Wisconsin community hopping in cars to search for escaped kangaroo

A Necedah petting zoo owner has been looking for her escaped kangaroo Chesney since he left his brother Kenny on Wednesday morning.

Debbie Marland said Chesney jumped his 8-foot enclosure and took off at about 11:15 a.m.

They're the smallest animals at her zoo, said Marland, who opened Sunshine Farm last June in Necedah, 90 miles northwest of Madison.

The kangaroos, named after country music star Kenny Chesney, are about 16 and 18 months old, and she's had them since they were each about six months old, she said.

"They were bottle fed by me and raised by me, and they live in the house with five of my Labradors," Marland said as she drove home from searching Thursday afternoon to put on warmer clothes to continue to look.

The two kangaroos live in Marland's home fulltime but go outside in nice weather or when the petting zoo is open, she said. They were in their enclosure when two unfamiliar dogs came onto Marland's property.

The dogs approached the enclosure in an aggressive way, she said. "They were hunting dogs and spooked Chesney to the point where he scaled his enclosure walls and scaled his fencing and hopped out and started running."

The farm is only open from around mid-May through November.

The Juneau County Sheriff's Office put out a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert on social media: "Only in Wisconsin would we wake up to 'Have you seen this kangaroo?'" the post said.

The post said that Chesney was last seen "bouncing through the area of 23rd & 9th like he’s training for the Olympics."

"Most importantly, Chesney is likely scared, so please be careful with him," the post said. "Please don't challenge him to a boxing match. If you spot him, contact Sunshine Farm — Necedah directly at 773-682-8042 so we can get this sweet guy back where he belongs."

A drone company is helping in the search, and Marland said she's grateful to everyone who has been out looking.

"The community has just been overwhelming with driving in cars and calling his name and looking for him right now, because we live in such a wooded area and he can travel faster than we can on foot," she said.

Marland said Kenny and Chesney are like therapy animals. She takes them on leashes with harnesses to nursing homes, senior centers and assisted living places at least once a week for visits.

"People get to pet them, and they hop around, and they bring so much joy and laughter to people," she said.

"Just to see the smiles that they're putting on people's faces who don't get visitors every day. I love my petting zoo, but I love that more than anything. It's just remarkable the joy it brings people."