At least three baby kangaroos have gone missing from two Russian zoos within a week, sparking suspicion that the animals may have been stolen in a coordinated campaign, according to media reports.
Police in the Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow, launched a criminal investigation after a kangaroo born in the winter disappeared from its enclosure at the Yaroslavl Zoo sometime between last Thursday and Friday.
Local news website 76.ru, citing anonymous sources, reported that suspected kidnappers allegedly cut a security camera cable before stealing the animal early in the morning.
Over the weekend, two more six-month-old kangaroos were reported missing from a bird park in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, according to broadcaster RTVI.
“They arrived at night, cut the fence, went into the shed, and stole the pair,” park owner Alexander Belyavsky told RTVI.
Police in the Kaluga region have also opened a criminal investigation into the animals’ disappearance.
Edgard Zapashny, a renowned animal handler and director of the Moscow Bolshoi Circus, told RTVI that both incidents could be connected. He speculated that the kangaroos may have been “ordered” by a private collector, stolen for sale on the black market or taken to be killed and stuffed.
Kaluga-based journalist Yevgeny Serkin noted that demand for exotic animals has risen among zoos and private collectors following Western sanctions against Russia.
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