Maryland Natural Resources Police and Anne Arundel County Animal Services responded earlier this month to a surprising report: A pet kangaroo was living at a residence in Edgewater.

When the officers hopped into action on the afternoon of Sept. 9, responding to a property in the 3000 block of Pocahontas Dr., they indeed found one of the marsupials, which are native to Australia and New Guinea.

“The kangaroo was found to be friendly, cooperative, and ultimately avoided any charges,” Natural Resources Police quipped in a Facebook post, with pictures of Sgt. Ron Collier and Officer Tyson Johnson posing with the exotic animal.

The photos showed an apparently curious kangaroo behind what appears to be a wire fence. Some sort of shed can be seen in the background.

The two agencies diverge in their stories about what happened next, with each saying the other was taking the lead.

Anne Arundel County code prohibits residents from having exotic pets, said Claudia Roll, director of the county’s new Animal Services agency. She added, however, that she believes Marylanders can get a permit from the Department of Natural Resources to have such pets.

“The kangaroo was not seized pending possible efforts to get a state permit,” Roll told The Banner.

That seems to give jurisdiction to Natural Resources Police.

But spokesperson Hunter Dortenzo said the state agency is “no longer involved in the process.”

“NRP is not apprised of a law that is being violated,” Dortenzo told The Banner.

Maryland law expressly prohibits residents from importing crocodilians, monkeys, non-domestic cats and dogs, and venomous snakes.

But not kangaroos.

“DNR does not have a permitting process for kangaroos,” Dortenzo said. “There may be a permitting process via USDA.”

The confusion in Edgewater is not the first time a kangaroo caused a stir in Maryland.

In 2023, residents of Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill neighborhood were divided over whether they’d seen a baby kangaroo or an urban fox strolling the alleys of West Baltimore. Authorities were stumped.

If there’s anything Natural Resources Police and county Animal Services agree on, it’s that there’s a first time for everything when it comes to wildlife calls.

Roll has been working in animal welfare for three decades. She learned long ago never to say that she’s seen it all. Still, she thought the Sept. 9 call about a kangaroo south of Annapolis might be a prank.

“When I first heard about it, I wondered if it was April 1,” Roll said. “I’ve learned to expect the unexpected and this is a new one.”