A relative found the 77-year-old man with “serious injuries” at his property on Sunday in semi-rural Redmond, 400 kilometers southeast of the Western Australian state capital of Perth. It was believed to have been attacked earlier in the day by the kangaroo, which police shot and killed because it was preventing paramedics from reaching the injured man, police said. “The kangaroo was a constant threat to emergency responders,” the statement said. The man died at the scene. Police are preparing a report for the coroner, who will record an official cause of death. Police believe the victim was keeping the wild kangaroo as a pet.
Legal restrictions
There are legal restrictions on keeping the Australian fauna as pets, but the police media office said on Tuesday it had no information to release about whether the victim had a permit. Tanya Irwin, long-legged carer at Native Animal Rescue in Perth, said authorities rarely issue permits to keep kangaroos in Western Australia. “It looks like it was an adult male and they get pretty aggressive and don’t do well in captivity,” Irwin said. “We don’t know what the situation was: If it was in pain or why it was being held in captivity, and unfortunately … it’s not a cute animal, it’s a wild animal.” Irwin said her rescue center always rehabilitates native animals with the goal of returning them to the wild, particularly kangaroos. “You need a special permit to be able to do that. I don’t think they give them out very often unless you’re a wildlife center with trained people who know what they’re doing,” he said.
He can be aggressive
Western gray kangaroos are common in southwestern Australia. They can weigh up to 54 kg and be 1.3 meters tall. Males can be aggressive and fight humans with the same techniques they use among themselves. They use their short upper limbs to wrestle with their opponent, use their muscular tails to support their body weight, and then lunge with their two powerful clawed hind legs. In 1936, William Cruickshank, 38, died in hospital at Hillston in the state of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia, months after being attacked by a kangaroo. Cruickshank suffered extensive head injuries, including a broken jaw, as he tried to save his two dogs from a large kangaroo, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time.
