Man attacked and killed by a Kangaroo he kept as a pet in Australia

An elderly man has died in South Western Australia after he was attacked by a wild kangaroo believed to have been kept by him as a pet, police said on Tuesday.

A relative discovered the 77-year-old man at his home in Redmond, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Perth, with terrible injuries, and paramedics were called to the property.

According to reports, the ambulance crew was prevented from accessing the injured man by the animal and had to be shot dead by the police.

“The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders,” according to a statement by the police.

Investigators believe that the kangaroo pounced on him and mauled him several hours before his relative discovered him. The man died at the scene. Police are preparing a report for a coroner who will record an official cause of the death.

The southwest of Australia is home to many western gray kangaroos. They can grow to 1.3 meters (4 feet 3 inches) in height and weigh up to 54 kilograms (119 pounds) and have a reputation for having strong kicks. Male kangaroos can be hostile and engage in combat with humans in the same way they do with one another: by kicking them with both of their clawed hind legs.

“The problem with kangaroos and people is we’re both upright animals, we stand on our two feet, and an upright stance like that is a challenge to the male kangaroo,” kangaroo behavior expert Graeme Coulson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“Certainly if they’re cornered or in some sort of distress, that can be quite dangerous,” Prof. Coulson said.

Fatal attacks on humans, however, are rare. The last time a kangaroo was reported to have killed someone in the country was in 1936. William Cruickshank, 38, was attacked by a kangaroo that year, and as a result of his injuries, he passed away in a hospital in Hillston, New South Wales, on Australia’s east coast.

The Sydney Morning Herald stated at the time that Cruickshank attempted to save his two dogs from a huge kangaroo but ended up suffering severe head injuries, including a broken jaw.