I was living in central Australia with my loving family. One day, I was strolling a bit far from my family when suddenly some bad people captured me in a net and put me inside a cage. Although I was strong enough to fight back, it happened so quickly that I was unable to respond to the situation. They decided that they would sell me and get a hefty amount of money.

On the same day, they sold me to other people and got money, and off they went for another bad business. I was locked in a cage and that’s when I heard those people saying that they were taking me to Ontario, Canada. I realised that I was kidnapped. I did not know what place it was, but I did not want to go with them.

It was a long flight in a cage from Australia to Canada and then we finally arrived in Ontario. My handlers were driving me to a new home, the Oshawa Zoo. I was missing my home, where I played with my siblings and had a lot of fun. But these people were heartless, they didn’t consider anything about me or my life. They shifted me to this new place. There were so many cages, I saw a lot of other animals, some I had never seen before. Perhaps they were also kidnapped just like me, because they all looked miserable.

While they were talking, one of the guys who was assigned to lock other animals in their respective cages, forgot to lock my cage. I found the door open and decided to escape, because it was the first chance I had gotten since I was snatched from my home.

I escaped, but the park’s watchman saw me running and reported to my handlers. I heard them yelling and running behind me. I didn’t stop; I kept running as far as I could. I crossed the zoo and entered a forest. I ran for more than an hour until I was so exhausted that I had to stop and look around. That’s when I found a small cave-like hiding spot inside the bushes. I went inside and rested.

Their search was on, but I remained in hiding. The news of a kangaroo’s escape spread through the city like wildfire. I was now more vulnerable because anyone could capture me for their own purposes. I was in the newspapers, on channels and featured in talk shows ... everyone was talking about me.

Police officers, animal welfare and rescue teams were patrolling the nearby areas of the place I had escaped from. I wanted to run away as far as possible. However, I remembered that my home was very far away; they had brought me here by airplane. But I was not hopeless; I resolved to try my best to run as far as I could. If anyone attempted to capture me again, I would fight back because I am not an ordinary animal, I know how to defend myself.

We, kangaroos, have a bone-shattering kick that delivers 759 pounds of force. I can cause serious injuries such as severe bruising and internal injuries, if anyone tries to mess with me. I will also not spare them. Don’t get me wrong, I am essentially a peace-loving herbivore.

It had been four days since I escaped, and I thought that I wouldn’t be caught now. I was eating some berries when suddenly, I saw a few cops in uniform at a distance from me. I turned and found there were more, that’s when I realised I was surrounded by them. They had different types of devices in their hands. I was scared and nervous, but just then I realised someone was right behind me. In self-defence, I hit my tail in his face. The officer fell and I started running in the opposite direction. I heard gunshots, and that’s when someone shot me with a dart gun. I fell unconscious.

They took me to the Oshawa Zoo, and gave me medical treatment because I was hurt. I rested there for a few days and then they relocated me to another big wide cage. The news of my escape and recapture was on all the news channels. Everyone was reporting about my escape, but sadly nobody knew how I was brought here … and how they took me from my family, from my home. My journey was over.

Now I am in Oshawa Zoo. I have made some friends here, but I can’t stop thinking about my family.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 9th, 2024