Runaway Wallaby

Deputies in Livingston Parish responded to an unusual call over the weekend when a caller reported a wallaby was loose in Denham Springs.Perry Rushing, chief of operations for the sheriff's office, says that deputies found the wallaby — sort of like a small version of a kangaroo — hopping along the road at about 10 a.m. Sunday. They were able to corral the animal in about 15 minutes.

The wallaby was claimed by a man who was temporarily housing the animal in Livingston Parish to escape flooding at his home in the Atchafalaya Basin. Rushing did not identify the owner.

He said the wallaby somehow managed to get out of its temporary enclosure.

Rushing says officials determined the wallaby's owner had the proper permits to own the exotic animal and returned the wallaby to him.