Drivers traveling in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate are keeping a look out for a stray kangaroo. For around three weeks now, the kangaroo has been seen at various sites between the towns of Gerolsheim, Ebertsheim and Maxdorf near the western German city Mannheim.

Locals have seen the kangaroo lingering on the outskirts of the various towns several times. One policeman even saw it hanging out in a local sports ground, but nobody has been quick enough to catch the marsupial, the likes of which are indigenous almost exclusively in Australia. On Monday, it became clear the exotic escapee was on the move, as it crossed the A61 highway in the early evening. Surprised drivers spotted the kangaroo, including one woman who says she almost ran over the animal. Witnesses reported the sighting to the police, but by the time they had arrived it was too dark to track the elusive creature.

Police Say Kangaroo No Danger to People

Local police say the kangaroo, which is thought to be surviving on a diet of grasses, shrubs and fungus, doesn't pose any threat to locals as long as it stays off the roads. The authorities' plan is to try and shoot the kangaroo with an anesthetic gun next time it is sighted, and then to take it somewhere safe. The head of the local municipal office in Gerolsheim, Hans-Peter Grimm told local Wormser Zeitung newspaper that a nearby zoo has been contacted about providing a home for the stray once it is captured. A private kangaroo-owning citizen from Otterberg also in Rhineland-Palatinate -- who isn't missing any of his animals -- has also said he would be willing to give the vagrant marsupial a new home.