Pathum Thani residents looking to lure rats destroying their bamboo shoots caught the wrong target when a baby kangaroo got stuck in one of their traps.
The frightened joey is being kept in a wooden cage while the Pathum Thani residents who found it wait for authorities to take the animal. (Photo by Pongpat Wongyala)
The joey, as baby kangaroos are known, was found in a rat trap that had been placed in a bamboo plantation in Khlong Luang district on Friday night, said Lee Phumphor, 59, the owner of the plantation.
The male joey is believed to be 3-5 months old and weighs 3-4 kilogrammes, about the size of a Thai cat. It sustained minor injuries as one of its legs got stuck in the trap.
Mrs Lee, 59, said her son and grandson had put the trap in the plantation as rodents had been eating their bamboo shoots.
Her grandson came to check the trap on Friday night and found not a rat but a cat-like animal inside the trap. As he moved closer, the animal tried to jump but failed as one of its legs was trapped. He then took the animal to the house and put it in a wooden cage, she said.
Mrs Lee then alerted police and the village headman to contact the proper authorities to take the joey as she feared her family would face legal action for having an exotic animal in their possession.
She said she had no idea who owned the animal as nobody in her community had raised a kangaroo.
Her neigbhours brought fruit and vegetables to her house to feed the rare animal, but the joey looked frightened and refused to eat, she added.