Breaking: Kangaroo Spoted in Lower Austria in the Middle of the Night

The kangaroo that turned a famous joke into a real-life headline

LOWER AUSTRIA — 5 OCTOBER 2026

Austria has a famous joke about having no kangaroos. This weekend, however, one kangaroo apparently decided that somebody needed to check the facts.

A kangaroo has been spotted several times in the area between Kammern near Langenlois and Zöbing in Lower Austria, leaving drivers, police and local residents wondering how a distinctly Australian-looking animal ended up hopping through the Austrian countryside.

A midnight surprise

The unusual story began during the night of Saturday, 3 October.

Four people returning home from a horse event were driving near a DIY store in Kammern, close to Langenlois, when they suddenly encountered something they certainly were not expecting to see on an Austrian road.

A kangaroo was sitting in the middle of the road.

At first, the group apparently could hardly believe what they were seeing. But there was little time for disbelief: the animal was on the road, so the group stopped and contacted the police emergency number.

According to the report, police initially found the story difficult to believe too. About 20 minutes after the call, the group received a response.

An hour-long attempt

The four people tried to get the kangaroo away from the road and, according to the reports, initially attempted to catch it.

The kangaroo had other plans.

After roughly an hour, the group managed to move the animal away from the road and towards a more natural area. The kangaroo then disappeared into the darkness.

But there was one final problem.

While helping the animal, the car's headlights had been left on to illuminate the scene. By around 2 a.m., the battery had gone flat.

The kangaroo had escaped.

The car had not.

The group eventually needed a jump-start before they could continue their journey.

Then came another sighting

The story could have ended there.

It didn't.

On Monday morning, another driver reported seeing a kangaroo near Zöbing and the Heiligenstein.

The driver, Sebastian, was travelling to work at around 7 a.m. when the animal suddenly appeared only a short distance away. It hopped into what appeared to be an orchard or vineyard.

He later told Heute that he thought he was dreaming.

The driver contacted police, who reportedly told him that he was not the first person to report seeing the animal.

The kangaroo was even given a temporary name by its latest observer: “Sydney.”

But where did it come from?

That remains the biggest mystery.

The reports do not establish where the kangaroo came from or who it belongs to. For now, the animal's movements around the Langenlois–Zöbing area remain unexplained.

And while seeing a kangaroo in Austria sounds completely absurd, this isn't the first time one has appeared in Lower Austria.

In 2024, a wild camera in a forest near Fels am Wagram captured another kangaroo. Its ownership and origin were also unclear at the time.

So… are there kangaroos in Austria?

The famous phrase “No Kangaroos in Austria” is a playful reference to the fact that Austria and Australia are often confused by English speakers.

The joke is so well known that it has become a piece of Austrian pop culture.

But technically, “no kangaroos in Austria” is not quite accurate.

Kangaroos aren't native wild animals of Austria, but individual kangaroos can be kept in captivity — and, as this week's bizarre series of sightings demonstrates, one can occasionally end up somewhere it definitely isn't expected to be.

So perhaps the more accurate slogan is:

NO NATIVE WILD KANGAROOS IN AUSTRIA.

Not quite as catchy.

One thing is certain

For the drivers who encountered the animal, this was no ordinary drive home.

A quiet night near Langenlois suddenly became a story involving a kangaroo, a police call, an hour-long animal chase and a dead car battery.

And the next morning, another driver spotted the same mysterious visitor hopping through the countryside.

Until someone discovers where “Sydney” came from, Lower Austria has a rather unusual resident.

Australia may be thousands of kilometres away — but this weekend, it certainly felt a little closer.

SOURCES

• Heute.at, “Wildwechsel! Känguru stoppt Auto in Niederösterreich,” 5 October 2026.
• Heute.at, “Habe geglaubt, ich träume – Känguru ‘Sydney’ hüpft einem Lenker direkt vor das Auto,” 5 October 2026.
• 5min.at, report on the Lower Austria kangaroo sightings, 5 October 2026.