NEW YORK — A kangaroo named Buster had a few minutes of freedom in New York City on Saturday morning, at least until the city’s finest cut his weekend jaunt short.

Buster and his owner, who live in upstate New York, were visiting friends on Staten Island over the weekend when someone left a gate unlocked at the home where they were staying.

The New York Police Department confirms they were called to respond to a wild animal hopping in an auto shop parking lot near Victory Boulevard and Travis Avenue early Saturday morning, according to WCBS.

“When we first came in the morning, we were just pulling the cars out, because we have other cars in the other shop … and one customer was waiting outside, and he saw something — it looked like a deer. And when it jumped out, we see it’s not a deer, it’s a kangaroo,” Alb’s Auto Repair’s Urim Osmani told WCBS 880.

New York City doesn’t allow residents to have marsupials as pets, but they are allowed upstate, the police told WCBS. The 3-foot tall, kangaroo escaped from his host’s yard after the gate was left unsecured.

Buster was returned to his owner, who was not charged in the incident. They were reportedly traveling home after Buster was found.

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