A 77-year-old man was attacked by his own pet kangaroo in south-west Australia. The animal also behaves aggressively towards the rushing emergency services. It must be killed. Any help comes too late for the man.
Australia has reportedly witnessed a fatal kangaroo attack on a human for the first time since 1936. A 77-year-old man who kept the three-year-old marsupial as a pet was attacked over the weekend and later died from his injuries, Australian broadcaster ABC reported.
Emergency services in Redmond south of Perth tried to help the injured. However, the kangaroo was aggressive and did not let the rescuers near the man. The animal was killed. Despite all rescue attempts, the man died. What triggered the attack was still unclear.
The last known fatal attack is said to have occurred in New South Wales more than 85 years ago. Kangaroo behavior expert Graeme Coulson said while kangaroo attacks are not uncommon, they are very, very rarely fatal. "They're big animals, they have a lot of weapons, sharp nails and sharp teeth, and if they're cornered or in some kind of distress, it can be quite dangerous," Coulson said.
Earlier this year there were several attacks Down Under, but all of the victims survived. In April, a woman was attacked and seriously injured by a kangaroo while playing golf in Queensland. In March, a teenage girl was riding her moped in Victoria when a kangaroo suddenly jumped out of the woods and knocked her off the bike. The 14-year-old was hospitalized for 10 days with injuries. Also in March, a three-year-old girl was attacked by a kangaroo on her home property on the east coast.
The kangaroo is Australia's national animal. There are four species of hopping marsupials: the red kangaroo, the eastern gray kangaroo, the western gray kangaroo, and the antelope kangaroo.
