Las Vegas police capture exotic rodent on the loose in parking lot

— -- What happens in Las Vegas apparently strays in Vegas.

Sin City is known for its glitzy casinos, nightlife and elaborate stage shows, not large rodents native to South America.

All that changed Thursday afternoon when a motorist stopped at a traffic light and tossed a long-eared animal onto the street.

“A black, four-door car opened up and threw this little animal out,” eyewitness Amber Ryan told ABC Las Vegas affiliate KTNV-TV.

Scurrying to a nearby strip mall, the abandoned animal, later identified as a Patagonian mara, was corralled under a car by curious bystanders and trapped by wildlife officers.

“It’s Vegas, so you never know what you’re going to see,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t surprise me anymore what you find and what you see on the road.”

The Patagonian mara, a large rodent with features reminiscent of a rabbit, is commonly found in Argentina.

The animal was being held at the Clark County Animal Shelter.