Despite being underfed, the kangaroo, which had escaped from an open prison in Jiřice, southeast of Prague, is otherwise in good health.
The kangaroo had likely been hiding in the surrounding forests for a week, and despite appeals to local residents, no information about its whereabouts was obtained.
The Czech prison service shared this unusual incident on Saturday via social media platform X.
Interestingly, the second kangaroo had also escaped at the same time as its counterpart, but decided to forgo its newfound freedom, quickly returning to the prison grounds.
Kangaroos, and other animals such as roosters, rabbits and llamas, have been kept at the prison since 2018.
They were introduced as part of a pilot project aimed at helping inmates approaching the end of their term deal with anger issues.
“The prison has very good conditions to implement special therapy courses, and these primarily involve farming and animal husbandry,” said jail spokesperson Marketa Prunerová.
The facility is located in close proximity to a closed prison.