Police claim an Australian man died after being assaulted by a kangaroo he had kept as a pet.
On Monday, a relative discovered the 77-year-old man with severe injuries at his home in Redmond, around 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Perth.
The kangaroo barred the ambulance staff from treating the man when they arrived at the rural residence.
According to police, they were compelled to shoot the marsupial for paramedics to access him. The individual was pronounced dead on the spot.
A police official told the reporters that investigators suspect the man was attacked by the kangaroo earlier in the day.
Australia is home to over 50 million kangaroos, which can weigh up to 90 kilograms and reach a height of 2 meters.
Nonetheless, fatal attacks are uncommon; this is the first fatal assault documented in Australia since 1936.
Graeme Coulson, a kangaroo behavior expert, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that kangaroos had “several weapons” such as sharp teeth, claws, and strong legs.
Associate Professor Coulson stated, “Certainly if they are cornered or in some form of crisis, this can be pretty harmful.”
“The problem with kangaroos and humans is that we’re both upright, two-footed animals, and this poses a challenge to the male kangaroo’s dominance.”
In July, a kangaroo assaulted a 67-year-old woman walking in Queensland, leaving her with injuries and a broken leg.
And in March, a three-year-old girl sustained severe head injuries in New South Wales.
Urbanization is increasingly intruding into kangaroo ecosystems across Australia.
