Found and lost

Keepers of exotic pets are more likely to lose their those that flee than dog or cat owners. It happened to a few Americans’ alligators.

There were also the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s hippopotamuses whose offsprings’ offsprings now roam in a hacienda in Medellin.

Recently, a Florida man’s exotic pet that ran away alarmed neighbors and sent wildlife authorities scrambling to catch it.

Jack, as its owner Anthony Macias calls the marsupial, was spotted leaping down the streets of Fort Lauderdale last Thursday. People reported the animal to police because it posed a hazard to motorists.

Police officers soon found and “arrested” the loose animal by grabbing it from behind and leashing it. But they did not return it to Macias. Instead, they temporarily placed it at a horse stable.

In Fort Lauderdale, residents are not allowed to keep such animals as pets. Macias was charged Tuesday with three misdemeanors.

“One for allowing the escape of the kangaroo and one for having no records of acquisition of the kangaroo, and one infraction for not having a license to possess the kangaroo,” Carol Lyn Parish of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said.

Macias faces 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500 if convicted.

In June last year, Mark McGowan’s pet alligator Chomp escaped from his home in Pittsburgh. When animal rescuers found it, the reptile was seized and taken to a wildlife facility instead of being returned to its owner.

Pittsburgh authorities also confiscated McGowan’s other exotic pets: two more alligators, five turtles, four hairless rats, two Burmese pythons, six rabbits and four quails as the animals were not in a proper facility and were neglected.

As for Macias’ roo, Parish said it has been transferred to a temporary facility until its forever home can be found.