Kangaroo Caught In Melbourne Airport Chemist - Sky News

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Passengers at an Australian airport got a shock when a kangaroo hopped into the terminal.

The animal managed to get into a chemist's shop in the terminal at Melbourne Airport, bouncing down the aisles.

Australian police and wildlife experts were called to deal with the kangaroo, believed to be a male eastern grey, which had become injured.

Ella Roundtree and Geoffry Fuller with the tranquilised animal

The rogue 'roo was in a distressed state and it is thought it had been hit by a car outside the terminal. It was tranquillised and taken for treatment.

Ella Rountree, a volunteer wildlife officer with animal charity Wildlife Victoria said: "He has got injuries to his feet at the moment, his claws are quite worn, that's from hopping down the tarmac, things like that.

"Cyrus, as he has been aptly named after one of the helpers on the scene, will be assessed by a vet following his ordeal."

Wildlife Victoria volunteers take Cyrus to a kangaroo sanctuary

Australian comedian Julia Morris broke the news on Twitter, where photographs began circulating of the marsupial in the skincare aisle of the terminal's pharmacy.

"Ok, so I'm at Melbourne airport & a KANGAROO has just jumped into the chemist," she tweeted, with the hashtags #notajoke, #soundslikeajoke, #mustneedaprescriptionfilled.

Australia's national airline, Qantas, features one of the animals on its livery and is known as the "Flying Kangaroo", prompting jokes on social media sites.

Cyrus bounced into the terminal at Melbourne Airport pic: Simon East

The terminal is located close to countryside known to be frequented by kangaroos and although the tarmac is guarded to ensure the animals do not hop into the path of an aircraft, staff said kangaroos occasionally made their way into the site's buildings.

In January one of the creatures led police on a chase through the airport's multi-storey carpark before it could be sedated and caught, following a similar incident in October 2012.

Last spring, Wildlife Victoria responded to calls about 1,190 eastern grey kangaroos.

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