Wandering wallaby gets new home

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A wallaby is settling into a new home in the Black Hills after getting out of its kennel during a flight change in Salt Lake City.

The 5-pound, 7-month-old male Australian marsupial escaped Thursday but had only a few minutes of freedom.

Roxy Bell, whose family owns The Roo Ranch near Deadwood, said vibration during the flight likely loosened buckles on the side of the kennel.

The wallaby – a smaller, stockier version of a kangaroo – did not kick its way out of the kennel, she said.

“I just don’t want them to get a bad reputation. You know, ‘Mean kangaroo gets out,’ ” Bell said.

In fact, a young female wallaby in the same cage stayed put.

Airport workers caught the young wallaby within five minutes after it hopped across the tarmac, said Marissa Snow, a spokeswoman for SkyWest Airlines, based in St. George, Utah.