Australian man killed in first fatal kangaroo attack since 1936
Sydney, Australia, Sep 13 (EFE).- A man has been killed in Australia’s first fatal kangaroo attack in 86 years, authorities confirmed to EFE Tuesday.
The 77-year-old man was found by a relative on Sunday afternoon with “serious injuries” on his property in Redmond, 400 kilometers south of Perth, Western Australia, to which emergency services were dispatched at about 5 pm local time.
Upon the arrival of police to the premises, the kangaroo was “preventing the ambulance crew from accessing the injured man,” Western Australia Police said in a statement.
“The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders and the attending [police] officers were required to euthanize the kangaroo by firearm,” it added.
The man died at the scene, and investigators think the attack occurred earlier in day.
Police believe the man had been keeping the kangaroo as a pet, despite the fact that Australian law has restrictions and regulations regarding keeping wild fauna in domestic environments.
It is the first record of a fatal attack by a wild kangaroo in Australia since 1936, when a man was killed in New South Wales.
Kangaroos can weigh up to 90 kilograms and reach 2 meters tall and, while attacks on humans are not rare, fatalities from these incidents are. EFE
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