FOUNTAINTOWN, Ind. - A 6-foot-tall kangaroo that surprised residents as it bounded about five miles through rural central Indiana during the weekend died Monday after authorities used a tranquilizer dart to capture it.

Hancock County Animal Control officers helped capture the Australian marsupial, an escaped pet named Skippy, early Monday not far from its home.

The cause of Skippy's death was not known, said Kenny McConahay, an officer with the Greenfield/Hancock County Animal Control Department.

"When our officer left the scene, it was still alive and coming out (of sedation). It was recovering," McConahay said. "The owners were advised to take it to a vet."

Skippy's owners, David and Sue Schutt, did not answer calls from The Associated Press seeking comment. Sue Schutt told WRTV-TV in Indianapolis that she believed Skippy overdosed on tranquilizer.

It was not known what the kangaroo had done or eaten during its weekend of freedom, and the amount of tranquilizer used in the dart was only half of the recommended dose, McConahay said.

"We underdosed the animal. When we caught it, it was still struggling," McConahay said. "It took two people to manhandle it into the truck."

Skippy got loose Friday when two teenage girls opened his cage.

"I left the gate open and the lights on for him ... thinking he would come back," said Sue Schutt, whose property is near Fountaintown, about 15 miles east of Indianapolis.

Neighbor Jim Greider saw the kangaroo Friday night and thought it was a huge rabbit. His family and guests went out to watch the animal hop down the road in front of his house and a few motorists swerved to avoid it.

"I didn't even know my neighbor had a kangaroo," said Greider, 53.

Indiana does not require a permit to keep kangaroos, said Dean Shadley, a wildlife conservation officer with the state Department of Natural Resources.

"I can't imagine there are very many kangaroos in Indiana," said Shadley. "I've worked here for 33 years, and this is the first I've heard of one."

Wild turkeys show up in Detroit suburb

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. - Wild turkeys have been showing up on the streets of this Detroit suburb, pecking at windows and eating from bird feeders.

The skittish birds are generally found in rural areas or large parks, but naturalists and wildlife experts say the turkeys could get used to life in this city of more than 78,000 people.

"Wherever you have a suburb that still has large stands of big trees left, where they think they are comfortable, you may be prone to having wild turkeys," said Joe Derek, city naturalist for Farmington Hills.

Tim Payne, southeast Michigan wildlife supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the birds may be growing accustomed to city life.

"They are very adaptive," he said. "If they've got cover and protection, they can adapt to people."

Global warming brings vampire moths to Finland

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Global warming is bringing more warmer-climate creatures to Finland, including moths that feast on human blood, according to nature researchers.
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Insect-watchers are spotting more and more calpe moths in the Nordic country, which used to be considered too cold for the insects from southeast Asia, Finnish nature magazine "Suomen Luonto" reported in its June edition.

The journal published what it said were the first pictures showing the moths -- calyptra thalictri -- sucking human blood.

The species was first sighted in Finland in 2000, but more than 100 of them have been counted since then, the journal said.