CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. — Can you walla-believe it! Officials have captured a pet wallaby that was on the loose on the Lincoln Memorial University campus Wednesday morning.
The university posted on social media that a Harrogate resident's pet escaped and was seen hopping across campus. It was last seen entering the woods behind Grant-Lee Hall, according to the university.
"Just another day of adventure at LMU," the university said.
A spokesperson with LMU said the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department and Animal Control were on campus but left to pursue it in the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Officials told the university that Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was also on the case.
"I was actually in my 9 a.m. lecture this morning, and my friend goes, 'Did you see the Facebook post that there's a wallaby at Hearthside Bank across the road?' And I said, 'No way,'" said Madison Snedigar, a veterinary student at LMU. "It's not every day you, obviously, get to see a wallaby — especially in Harrogate, Tennessee."
The wallaby is a pet named "BooBoo," and had escaped from his home. Rangers from the Cumberland Gap National Park eventually captured him, with help from civilians.
"I was within, probably six or eight feet of it, and it had turned its back to me. So, that's when I kind of rushed in and got my hands around it, and I thought I had a good grip on it. But boy, those things can kick," said Andrew Thompson, one of the rangers who helped capture it. "Now, this is definitely one that I probably will not forget."
Some professors even used the situation as a chance to teach their students.
"I decided to just talk to the students that were there and talk about anesthesia, and the potential of us doing anesthesia. So, we had our medications ready," said Dr. Paul Nader, a professor of wildlife zoo medicine and veterinary anatomy at LMU.
One of the biggest lessons for veterinary students at LMU on Wednesday — expect the unexpected.
"I just feel like that's kind of a normal day in veterinary medicine. You never know what you're going to wake up to, or have to deal with the next day," said Snedigar.