Australian Man Killed by Pet Kangaroo

A Kangaroo jumps across a golf course in Canberra on October 28, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

An elderly man in Western Australia has died after an apparent attack by his pet kangaroo.

The man was gravely injured in the attack, which occurred at the man’s home in Redmond, near Albany in the state’s south.

Paramedics were called to the man’s property on Sunday evening after the 77-year-old was found by a relative with serious injuries.

Representatives from the Western Australian Police force said police officers were forced to shoot the marsupial dead because it was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders. A kangaroo hopping across the road outside the town of Booligal in western New South Wales. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Police were called to the property to assist emergency services after the kangaroo prevented the ambulance crew from accessing the injured man, who unfortunately died at the scene of the incident.

Representatives from the Western Australian Police force said police officers were forced to shoot the marsupial dead because it was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders.

The man is believed to have been attacked by the kangaroo earlier in the day. Police believe it was a wild animal that the man had attempted to keep as a pet.

A police report will be prepared for the coroner.

Kangaroos Can Be Dangerous

Data from the National Coronial Information Centre (pdf), on average, kangaroos kill 37 Australians every year. However, most of those are killed through a motor vehicle accident involving a kangaroo.

However, the New South Wales Office of the Environment and Heritage (pdf) does say that while the risk of being attacked by a kangaroo is very low, the marsupials are capable of causing serious injuries, especially if they have lost their instinctive fear of humans because people have fed or handled them, view humans as a sparring partner or threat to themselves, their offspring or their the dominance of the group.

“A kangaroo will attack a person as if they were another kangaroo. It may push or grapple with its forepaws or sit back and kick out with its hind legs. As resulting injuries can be serious, avoiding conflict with kangaroos is vital,” the office says.