October 11, 2015

"A 7-year-old Australian boy miraculously survived an attack by an aggressive kangaroo using a defense method... 'the kangaroo roll.'"

"'You put your hands around your neck and you roll up in a ball'.... The boy proceeded to put his face down and scream for help."

Miraculously? How dangerous are kangaroos? Here's a Slate article from 2012 (after 3 kangaroos escaped from a zoo in Germany):
Although the last recorded death came in 1936, there have been several kangaroo attacks in Australia in recent years, some resulting in serious injuries.... The best defense is to keep a safe distance and try to create a barrier between yourself and the beast. Even holding up a large tree branch can be helpful. If the kangaroo approaches, turn your body sideways, exposing a narrow profile to the animal and protecting your face and organs. Raise your hands and lean your head away from the animal to minimize the chances of being scratched across the face by the kangaroo’s nasty claws. Retreat, but do not turn your back and run. A kangaroo can easily chase you down, kicking as it hops.
At the internal link, 2 of the stories show kangaroos attempting to drown somebody's dog:
November 2009... 49 Year old Chris Rickard was walking around his property together with his dog, a blue heeler named Rocky. They stumbled upon a sleeping kangaroo, who woke up and tried to get away, chased by the dog Rocky. The kangaroo them jumped in to the water and the dog followed. In a self defence move typical for kangaroos the kangaroo grabbed the dog with its front paws and held it under water to drown it....

July 2004...  Christine Canham was walking her four golden retrievers around Dunlop Ponds in Canberra's northern suburbs when her dog, Summer, had a run-in with a kangaroo who then held him under water and drowned him. Drought conditions have made the kangaroos change their usual behaviour and become active in daytime and fiercely defend water sources and feed patches....

19 comments:

rhhardin said...

This is why I always carry a boomerang.

Laslo Spatula said...

Would one sue in a kangaroo court?

I am Laslo.

Expat(ish) said...

Kangaroos are big and can be startlingly fast.

I saw a 300 lb+ fella kick another one hard enough to tumble him five or six feet.

If that had been a person they'd have been very badly hurt.

Don't jump to conclusions.

-XC

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Any defensive methods for babies to use against dingoes?

rhhardin said...

Outrunning works with sloths.

Original Mike said...

I bet Aussies roo the day they disarmed themselves.

Nichevo said...

Exactly. All wildlife in Oz is totes lethal including the koala bears. Now Australia, that's a place where you shouldn't go to the bathroom without a gun. Not to mention of course it was founded by a race of convicts. ;-)

Fernandinande said...

Owl loved to rest quietly whilst no one was watching.

Sitting on a fence one day, he was surprised when suddenly a kangaroo ran close by. Now this may not seem strange, but when Owl overheard Kangaroo whisper to no one in particular, "The hare has lost his spectacles," well, he began to wonder.

Original Mike said...

Oz is a dangerous place. The worst of the worst are the Drop Bears.

Bay Area Guy said...

When I read this, I thought of an old clip of Woody Allen boxing a kangaroo on TV

Etienne said...

I'd say just shoot the fucker, but oh yea, they confiscated all the guns. Oh well...

Mike said...

Kangaroos can be dangerous. They look cute but they are very strong. I'm actually surprised no one has been killed by one in so long.

And don't get me start on the vicious balls of fur that are koalas in the wild.

Anthony said...

They're big, they're strong, and they have exceptionally strong back legs with a prominent (and sharp) claw which can do a great deal of damage to a squishy hominid belly.

Not the sort of thing I'd like to meet in a dark alley. Although it would be kind of cool.

Wince said...

The writer of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," Rolf Harris, was a greater threat to Australia's children than any kangaroo.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

They are particularly dangerous when mistaken for mice.

Or at least I have seen numerous seven minute documentatries to that effect..

cubanbob said...

Are they tasty? If they are then that might be a solution for pesky roos.

Original Mike said...

"Are they tasty?"

Very. Taste like venison.

Nichevo said...

Sure, venison, but what do you kill it with, a didgeridoo? Your Crocodile Dundee this-is-a-knyfe? No guns, remember.

Nichevo said...

Seriously? If deer had claws and a raptor attack mode, we'd nuke them from orbit.