Has anyone seen my wallaby?

Understandably perhaps not a question often asked here in France where the most usual "lost" signs when it comes to domestic pets, would be for a missing moggy or a peripatetic pooch.

But for Franck Giroussin the fate of his wallaby, Eora, has become a cause for concern, especially as a cold spell hits large parts of the country including his "habitat" in the southwest of France.

Unlike the Xertigny crocodile, the case of Eora involves a documented animal, who until September this year had been happily enjoying life in his enclosure in the village of Ambax (population just 69 - people that is) in southwestern département of Haute Garonne.

Since heeding the call of the wild and grasping his chance to break free, the missing marsupial has been spotted on a couple of occasions.

The first time was in Espaon just 15 kilometres away when two elderly women apparently saw "a kangeroo in a field" but kept the information to themselves for fear of appearing ridiculous.

And then a few days ago Eora made another appearance - this 19 time kilometres from his home base on the edge of a forest in the town of Rieumes.

Hardly a huge distance for the one-metre macropod which can "leap six metres in length and reach a top speed of 40 kilometres and hour," according to Giroussin.

He has alerted police, local authorities and vets in the area of the animals disappearance.

While Eora is certainly not aggressive and therefore presents no danger and won't bite anyone, he is apparently of a rather nervous disposition and not that easy to approach, let alone capture.

Which is why Giroussin has invested in a special rifle with a hypodermic tranquiliser as being "the only way to catch him" and urges anyone catching sight of the wallaby to contact him or the police directly.

Let's just hope that in a country in which hunting is still a very popular pastime in rural areas, someone won't mistakenly take a shot at Eora thinking they're bagging a more familiar animal.

An affair to follow.