TWO Newcastle residents thought their eyes were playing tricks on them when they offered to do an early-morning airport run for their son on Tuesday.
Fudge and Alan McCully were on pick-up duty in Copeland Street Lambton at 4.15am when two kangaroos jumped ahead of their car.
"We pulled into the street and I said 'oh look at that, what the heck!" Ms McCully said.
"Roos in suburbia, it's just bizarre."
Despite the early wake-up Ms McCully was quick enough to grab her phone and shoot video of the unexpected nature sighting.
"They were blinded by the lights and jumped off down the street," she said.
"I didn't say anything for a while, I was just so surprised."
The videos have since been shared on social media with most people shocked to see the kangaroos in such a built-up part of town.
Newcastle Herald contacted the rangers at Blackbutt Reserve to find out if the lost kangaroos came from the popular bush area, but the site does not have a wild kangaroo population. The kangaroos that do live in the reserve's enclosure were all accounted for on Tuesday.
A NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said the closest bushland is about 2km away, and includes the Blackbutt Nature Reserve and Jesmond Bushland areas near John Hunter Hospital.
"It's rare for kangaroos to be found in a place like Copeland Street, Lambton," she said.
"The most likely explanation is that kangaroos are living in close by bush areas and, due to three back-to-back la ninas, there's increased food, which can result in a boom in population."
NPWS encourages people to keep their distance, drive carefully and not feed any kangaroos that might be in the area.
The public should contact Parks on 13000 PARKS or the RSCPA if they see a kangaroo in an unsafe area.
Have you spotted kangaroos in your suburb? Or have you experienced a different kind of unexpected animal visit? Send you photos and videos to news@newcastleherald.com.au.
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