Posted on 05/09/2007 4:36:31 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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. "They're not mean. They're very tame."
In fact, a young female wallaby in the same cage stayed put.
The pair arrived in Rapid City late Thursday, Bell said.
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.
"It is a good reminder for people who are transporting live cargo to check their kennels and make sure they're in operating order," she said.
Bell said it was the first escape for any of the animals being shipped to the Roo Ranch.
It helped Bell find a name for the fugitive wallaby: Tarmac.
The Bell family plans to open the Roo Ranch, which has about 50 kangaroos and wallabies, on Memorial Day weekend. It would join other animal-oriented attractions in the Black Hills such Bear Country USA, Reptile Gardens and Trout Haven.
This photo provided by Roxy Bell shows a 5-pound, 7-month-old albino wallaby Tuesday, May 8, 2007, in Deadwood, S.D. His owners at The Roo Ranch named him Tarmac because he escaped from his cage Thursday, May 3, 2007, for a few minutes while being transferred to a different airplane at the Salt Lake City airport. (AP Photo/Courtesy Roxy Bell)
Roo Ranch: http://www.therooranch.com/
There’s an old Australian stockman, lying, dying,
and he gets himself up on one elbow,
and he turns to his mates,
who are gathered ‘round him and he says:
Watch me wallabys feed mate.
Watch me wallabys feed.
They’re a dangerous breed mate.
So watch me wallabys feed.
Altogether now!
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Tie me kangaroo down sport,
tie me kangaroo down.
Keep me cockatoo cool, Curl,
keep me cockatoo cool.
Don’t go acting the fool, Curl,
just keep me cockatoo cool.
Altogether now!
Take me koala back, Jack,
take me koala back.
He lives somewhere out on the track, Mac,
so take me koala back.
Altogether now!
Mind me platypus duck, Bill,
mind me platypus duck.
Don’t let him go running amok, Bill,
mind me platypus duck.
Altogether now!
Play your digeridoo, Blue,
play your digeridoo.
Keep playing ‘til I shoot thro’ Blue,
play your digerydoo.
Altogether now!
Tan me hide when I’m dead, Fred,
tan me hide when I’m dead.
So we tanned his hide when he died Clyde,
(Spoken) And that’s it hanging on the shed.
Altogether now!
© 1960 Castle Music Pty, Ltd.
Words and music by Rolf Harris
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