Aargau – or Switzerland in general, for that matter – has hardly been a natural stomping ground for kangaroos. Until now, that is.
The kangaroo – first mistaken by onlookers for a giant rabbit – somehow showed up at a summer camp in Dietwil, canton Aargau, nearly 15,000 km away from its native Australia.
Efforts to lure it with cucumbers were, however, futile, and the kangaroo hopped away with the cantonal police’s Environmental and Animal Crimes Unit in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, police and game wardens contacted various animal shelters in the area, but nobody reported missing a kangaroo.
So, the mysterious plot surrounding the wayward marsupial’s origin and presence on Swiss soil is thickening.
Meanwhile, the incident, reported widely in the Swiss media, has incited some hilarious comments from readers.
“Of course the kangaroo hopped away,” one said. “What should it have done, somersaulted?”
“The fact that there are now kangaroos hopping in Switzerland is certainly due to climate change,” another commented. “Soon we will see penguins swimming in our lakes.”
And then there was this reassuring note: “The statistical probability of being run over by a kangaroo in Switzerland is in the low per-million range.”
“Better a kangaroo than a grizzly bear,” another said.
From bulls to elephants
This is the first-ever reported sighting of a kangaroo in Switzerland, but other animals successfully made daring escapes from their zoos and other enclosures in the past – though they were all eventually caught.
Here are some examples:
- In 2025, a 600-kg bull escaped in Montalchez, canton Neuchâtel, triggering a nationwide alert and deployment of police patrols, wildlife wardens, and a veterinary surgeon. The animal was eventually found in – not surprisingly – a neighbour’s barn, surrounded by several cows.
- In 2023, also in Basel, a lemur ran away from the zoo, roamed the city, and was seen patiently waiting at a tram stop.
- In 2010, a 5-tonne elephant named Sabu broke free from a travelling Circus Knie in Zurich while being loaded for transport. He was spotted by passersby strolling calmly through Zurich’s banking district and taking a dip in the lake. He did not, thankfully, cause any damage to people or property.
But even domestic pets sometimes long for freedom to explore.
In 2023, an escaped border terrier named Lucky made an epic 160-kilometre cross-country journey.
She ultimately lived up to her name and was found safe and sound and returned to her owners.
READ MORE: Escaped dog travels 160 kilometres across Switzerland in one night
