A wild kangaroo is suspected to have killed a 77-year-old man who kept it as a pet, Australian police said Tuesday. This would be the marsupial’s first fatal attack in 86 years.
The man, who has not been identified, was found with “serious injuries” on a property in the sparsely populated South Australian city of Redmond on Sunday afternoon, police said.
“The man is believed to have been attacked by the kangaroo today,” a state police spokesman said.
The animal had to be euthanized.
A team of paramedics went to the scene, but the septuagenarian died on the spot.
“On the property, a kangaroo was blocking ambulance access to the injured man,” the official said.
Police said they had to euthanize the animal because it “represents a permanent threat to rescue services”.
86 years since the last fatal incident
Although the species of kangaroo has not been identified, the Deep South region of Western Australia is home to the Western Gray Kangaroo, the male of which can grow to be up to 2.2 meters long and weigh up to 70 kg.
According to Australian media, the last reported fatal attack by a kangaroo dates back to 1936. During this incident, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that a 30-year-old man died in a hospital in New South Wales, several months after being attacked while I was trying to rescue two dogs from a large kangaroo. The attack left him with a broken jaw and significant head injuries.
Source: BFM TV
