Australia: Kangaroo kills 77-year-old man who had it as pet
In a shocking incident, a 77-year-old man was reportedly killed by his pet kangaroo in Australia earlier this week, the local police said on Tuesday. Reportedly the first fatal kangaroo attack in 86 years, the incident took place at Redmond, Western Australia, on Sunday. The man, identified as Peter Eades—an alpaca breeder—died of "serious injuries" after being attacked by his pet, a wild kangaroo.
Here's more about the incident
Eades was attacked by the wild kangaroo at his property on Sunday in Western Australia's Great Southern region, ABC News reported. A family member found him with grievous injuries and called authorities. An ambulance was rushed to the scene, but Eades succumbed to his injuries. The well-known alpaca breeder had been keeping the three-year-old kangaroo as a pet, the police said.
Police forced to kill marsupial
When authorities arrived at the scene, the pet kangaroo also reportedly prevented them from accessing Eades. According to AFP, the police were forced to shoot the marsupial dead as it was "posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders." However, the police have not been able to identify the kangaroo's species yet.
Kangaroos in Western Australia region
The Great Southern region of Western Australia mostly harbors the western grey kangaroo. As per experts, the male western greys can weigh up to 70kg and grow up to 2.2m long. In Australia's last reported fatal kangaroo attack in 1936, a man—attempting to save two dogs from a kangaroo in New South Wales—died of head injuries and a broken jaw months after the incident.
Eades was known to be an animal lover
As per reports, Eades was an animal lover and had raised the kangaroo that killed him since it was a joey (a young kangaroo). He established the Agonis Alpaca stud in 1997 and harbored 60 alpacas. He also used to build cemeteries for all of his deceased animals. The incident comes as a shock to the community because kangaroo attacks are "rarely fatal."
'Kangaroos are wild animals'
Michelle Jones, a wildlife carer, told ABC News that the latest incident is a tragic reminder that people need to be careful around kangaroos since they are "definitely not pets but wild animals." She added that these beautiful animals can turn into wild ones 18 months after their birth, especially due to high testosterone and other hormones in young male kangaroos.
