Kangaroo escapes, high-tails it down Alabama highway

Published 6:43 am Tuesday, March 2, 2021

When driving the backroads of Alabama, you have to expect the unexpected.

That is what happened for a few drivers around Winfield when they caught sight of a kangaroo high-tailing it down the highway.

The wily kangaroo slipped loose from its handlers Monday and now has people in northwest Alabama hopping around the countryside looking for the animal.

Braxton Basinger of B & H Livestock said he was taking the kangaroo from south Mississippi to its new home in Tennessee when one of his workers let the animal escape.

The owner of a stockyard in Indiana, Basinger is used to hauling horses, cattle and even buffalo. A family asked him for help in finding a kangaroo and he was able to do so.

Basinger said he stopped at his home in Winfield for a few days before transferring the animal at the end of the week. While in Winfield, the animal, wet from recent rains, slipped loose from one of Basinger’s workers.

“He was headed straight down the driveway,” Basinger told AL.com.


Basinger and others have been searching for the kangaroo. They were able to briefly track the animal to an area near Basinger’s home, but have not been able to recapture the animal.

Basinger said he doesn’t expect the animal to go very far and plans to go out on horseback to try to corral him in after daylight Tuesday.

Basinger said food has been put out to see if the kangaroo will eat. While the animal is relatively gentle and has allowed people to pet it, authorities warn people not to approach it if they see it and instead to call Basinger at 1-901-488-0888.