Runaway wallaby evades police in busy German city

A wallaby is currently at large in Berlin, prompting local police to issue a public advisory: keep your distance, but maintain visual contact if spotted. The marsupial, a smaller relative of a kangaroo, was first reported on Sunday morning, meandering through the western Spandau area of the German capital.

Chief Inspector Martin Halweg confirmed on Monday that Berlin police are no longer actively pursuing the animal, as it is not believed to pose an immediate threat to public safety – for now. Officers were initially dispatched after passersby reported the creature on the run, but it eluded capture by darting into a forest, and its trail was subsequently lost.

Berlin police are not equipped with specialist tools for capturing kangaroos or wallabies, possessing only blankets or snares typically used for free-roaming dogs, Halweg explained. A video circulating on Facebook, depicting a wallaby hopping down a dark street before pausing to lick its paws as a woman’s voice expressed surprise, appears to have been filmed around the time of its disappearance.

German media reports suggest the approximately 90-centimetre-tall wallaby belongs to a private owner, though the precise circumstances of its escape remain unclear. "Berlin police recommend that if you see the animal, notify police or the Berlin Animal Catcher," Halweg advised. "They also advise keeping your distance and maintaining visual contact with the animal so that emergency personnel can approach it."

While the city's police do not typically record lost animals, Chief Inspector Halweg, with over three decades of service, noted the extreme rarity of such an incident. He remarked: "Such cases are indeed very rare," highlighting the unusual nature of the ongoing marsupial hunt.