NEW YORK — A marsupial, a mammal that is part of the kangaroo family, has somehow ended up in New York City.
Police found it Friday in Brooklyn after a man was seen with the animal on the Riegelmann boardwalk in Coney Island shortly after 5 p.m.
Owning a wild marsupial is illegal in the Big Apple, so officers confiscated the animal. The 22-year-old man who was seen with him received a citation.
The marsupial was taken to Animal Care and Control, and then transferred to a local animal rehabilitation center.
It was not immediately clear if the marsupial was a jack (male), Jill (female) or joey (baby). Marsupials are similar to kangaroos, but significantly smaller, weighing only 40 pounds. But just like kangaroos, they have strong hind legs and can travel quite fast, up to almost 30 miles per hour at top speed.
