Mauston, Wisconsin man kills kangaroo in his driveway

**singersp** · 12-12-2005, 01:57 PM

[size=18px]Mauston man kills kangaroo in his driveway[/size]

By Rhonda Siebecker Rothe Star-Times

Ralph Hamm might have a little trouble explaining to his insurance company about his recent collision with an animal in his driveway. Wednesday, the rural Mauston man hit a kangaroo, which had apparently been living under a culvert on his property.

Calling it a "once in a lifetime thing," Hamm said the animal darted out in front of him from the side and he didn't have a chance to stop, killing the animal. His truck received no damage in the incident. After he hit the kangaroo, which weighed about 50 pounds, Hamm said he couldn't believe what he was seeing and the next day, he reported the accident to the Department of Natural Resources. "The DNR said it was out of their jurisdiction," Hamm said. "They said they would have shot it, to get rid of it for disease purposes."

Hamm said the culvert area had "a lot of tracks and a line where he dragged his tale," indicating the animal had been under there for quite some time.

Tom Jodarski, former DNR warden for over 20 years in Juneau County, said he had never seen a kangaroo in the area. "I would assume somebody had acquired an exotic animal and it got away from them," he said. "As time goes on, you never know what you're going to hear. Bears and wolf sightings were a big deal a few years back and somebody had an alligator for a pet, but a kangaroo-that's a first!"
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Also from the Journal Sentinel;

....Last winter, Iowa County authorities captured a 130-pound kangaroo in a horse barn south of Dodgeville. That kangaroo, nicknamed "Roo," is alive and well at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison.

Authorities believe that kangaroo was an escaped pet, too. They spent two months searching for its owners, to no avail.

Hamm said he still has the carcass of the kangaroo he killed. He said he's thinking about having it stuffed.
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From WKOW 27 News;

............A man in Mauston had his own run-in with a kangaroo literally. This second roo will still end up on display, but not in a zoo but rather his home. There's a long drive way that leads up to Ralph Hamm's house in Mauston. At about halfway though the road narrows where he installed a drainage pipe, so he always slows down. But, last Wednesday night even driving slow wasn't enough. Ralph Hamm says, "When I looked back I had seen something jump in front of me and that's when I hit it." Ralph expected to see an animal that is native to the woods around his home. Hamm says, "I thought maybe it was a coyote or fox or something and then I backed up and I looked and I couldn't believe it." Ralph ran over a 50 pound kangaroo. Hamm says, "I figured they were born in Australia not here." The DNR gave permission for ralph to keep his roadkill. So, it's in a freezer until he can take it to a taxidermist. Hamm says, "Real furry, a good coat on him. You can't see the tracks, but he'd been running back and forth through this tube out that way and wherever he had ran you could see his tail dragging."

Ralph determined the roo probably had been resting in the drainage pipe on his property. And after Ralph and his roo were featured in the Mauston paper more tales came out about the kangaroo from his neighbors. Hamm says, "Some lady had seen this one about a month ago and her husband said she was just seeing things." And Ralph's trophy is proof that seeing might be the only way to believe this tale. Ralph plans to take the kangaroo to the taxidermist Monday. So far, no one's coming forward to claim the runaway roo.
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**gregair13** · 12-12-2005, 09:01 PM

that is so stupid. how the hell do you hit a kangaroo in your driveway?

**VKG4LFE** · 12-13-2005, 01:22 AM

How the hell does a kangaroo get in your driveway in sconny??

**cajunvike** · 12-13-2005, 01:28 AM

It's actually a domestic violence case...the man was married to the kangaroo...and the man thought that the roo was cheating on him with another Sconnie...so he chased his roo wife down with his truck and accidentally hit the roo/wife and killed her! LOL!

**V4L** · 12-13-2005, 01:31 AM

Man that's insane.. What would ya think living in Wisconsin and hitting a kangaroo?! I would be freaked out

**LuckyVike** · 12-13-2005, 01:42 AM

"cajunvike" wrote:

It's actually a domestic violence case...the man was married to the kangaroo...and the man thought that the roo was cheating on him with another Sconnie...so he chased his roo wife down with his truck and accidentally hit the roo/wife and killed her! LOL!

I'm pretty sure you're right. :lol:

**cc21** · 12-13-2005, 02:11 AM

Only in Wisconsin. wow How the hell would a kangaroo get in Wisconsin?

**whiteboy** · 12-13-2005, 02:47 AM

wow, never thought i woulda heard anything like that, but i guess anything is possible in the state of inbreds

**VKG4LFE** · 12-13-2005, 04:54 AM

Good point cajun, now I know how the roo/wife got in sconnie!

**WBLVikeBabe** · 12-13-2005, 06:20 AM

lol, only in Wisconsin. I love this part...

Tom Jodarski, former DNR warden for over 20 years in Juneau County, said he had never seen a kangaroo in the area.

Yea because you know there are kangaroos running all over the place in Wisconsin. :roll: