Police officers in Edwardsville, Kansas, rescued an injured juvenile kangaroo from the median of Interstate 435 on a recent night.

Edwardsville law enforcement and animal control from nearby Bonner Springs responded to calls about the unusual highway sight of a joey, which some mistook for a wallaby.

“There is nothing normal about a kangaroo in the middle of 435. This isn’t Australia, so random kangaroos in the middle of the highway aren’t normal,” Bonner Springs Police Capt. Mike Krauze told the Kansas City Star.

The kangaroo was rescued without difficulties.

“It was laying down and not very mobile from the time I showed up,” Animal Control Officer Kendra Anthony told WDAF-TV. “It had crossed over three lanes of traffic to get to the median. But once I got there, the capture went pretty smoothly.”

The critter was taken back to the Bonner Springs animal control facility, where it was put behind bars and given veterinary care. Law enforcement did not specify whether the kangaroo’s injuries were caused by a car or by other means.

Edwardsville police later determined the young kangaroo had escaped from a vehicle owned by Thorni Ridge Exotics as it returned from a petting zoo event at the Kansas City Public Library.

The mobile petting zoo company is located in Smithson, Missouri, about 100 miles southeast of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.