HOW ROO–D

Australian Man Killed by ‘Pet’ Kangaroo in Rare Attack

The kangaroo reportedly prevented first responders from accessing the victim.

An Australian man has been killed by a wild kangaroo that he was reportedly keeping as a pet, in the first fatal kangaroo attack in more than 85 years. The man was discovered with “serious injuries” by a relative at his property in Redmond, 250 miles southeast of Western Australia’s capital, Perth, police confirmed. The kangaroo was preventing authorities from reaching the 77-year-old after the attack on Sunday, forcing police to kill the angry ’roo. “The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders,” a statement obtained by the Associated Press said, confirming the animal was shot. Legal restrictions prevent Australians from owning native fauna as pets but reports indicate the man, who died at the scene, ignored the rule. The last fatal attack by a kangaroo was in 1936. Western gray kangaroos, which are common in Australia’s southwest, are not to be messed with: They can weigh as much as 119 pounds and stand 4 feet 3 inches tall. “[The male’s] bodies are built for this… they’re built for boxing and they’re built for battle in some cases,” Australian Reptile Park life science manager Hayley Shute told NCA Newswire.