Mississippi is in the midst of a rash of kangaroo sightings. Here is a summary of what the wire services are reporting about the specifics.

Bay St. Louis, Miss. (AP) – A kangaroo may be on the loose in Mississippi.

Animal-control officers in Bay Saint Louis say there have been several reports in the past few days of a kangaroo hopping along U.S. 90.

The mayor says he’s heard reports of people seeing a kangaroo four or five different times, and at first he wondered if someone was just joking around.

Some officials suspect the animal was someone’s pet that may have escaped.

Based on eyewitness accounts, the kangaroo is about four feet tall…. “Mississippi residents report kangaroo sightings,” Associated Press – August 8, 2007.

Gulfport’s Sun Herald reporter Ryan LaFontaine appears to be the source of the original article about accounts of sightings in the past few days of a kangaroo near Seminary Drive and U.S. 90.

Mayor Eddie Favre told LaFontaine: “It could be someone had the kangaroo and it got loose or it may be a case where the kangaroo came in with Katrina and has been here ever since.”

The reporter also mentioned other exotic animals of the recent past near there:

The ‘roo seems to be the latest addition to South Mississippi’s “wild kingdom.” In 2004, Bay police spent four days searching in drainage ditches and under houses for a missing 17-foot Burmese python. Police in Waveland pulled a nine-foot alligator from a ditch near a neighborhood bus stop in May. There were reports of wild pigs in Hancock County last year and more in Gulfport last month.

Nearly four months after the python terrorized Union Street residents, the Bay City Council drafted a proposal to ban more than 100 different species of exotic animals, including hippopotamuses, giraffes, some reptiles and kangaroos. But the council failed to adopt the regulation when a handful of residents protested later that year. by Ryan LaFontaine, “Case of the cagey kangaroo,” Sun Herald, Wednesday, August 8, 2007.

For over 100 years, “Mystery Kangaroos” in North America have been reported; please see Chapter 14 of Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation’s Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures.

Thanks to d bard for the heads up on this new series.