Detroit Zoo officials say that a missing five-month-old wallaby joey was likely snatched from the sky by a predator.
Zoo bosses raised the alarm over the weekend and say that it is the first time in the zoo’s history that an animal has gone missing from the property.
In a Facebook update, officials conceded that native predators living near the zoo, such as an owl or a hawk, are suspected of having flown in and grabbed the joey, which is the size of a small rabbit, from its habitat.
“We’ve never had an animal disappear like this,” Scott Carter, chief Life Sciences officer at the zoo, told The Detroit News.
“We can’t overlook the possibility that an owl or a hawk took the joey. It may be that is the case and we’ll never find the joey.”
Mr Carter said it was possible a zoo visitor had snatcehd the joey, but that staff and volunteers were constantly watching the Australian Outback Adventure habitat.
“We love to see new animals at the zoo, especially babies,” said Andrew McFerrin, a zookeeper who works with the giraffes and marsupials.
“Because we don’t know what happened to this joey and because it was so sudden, it’s just very shocking for all of us. We’re definitely very sad about it.”
The joey, born to a four-year-old red-necked wallaby called Sprocket, was last seen by zoo staff at around 5pm on Saturday and was discovered missing early on Sunday morning.
An investigation is underway and zoo security and staff are reviewing trail cameras and surveillance cameras from across the zoo.
The zoo is home to 11 kangaroos and wallabies.
