Australia is home to about 50 million kangaroos ....
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| The Fearsome And Impressive 'Roger' |
.......which can weigh up to 90kg and grow to 2m tall.
Some people mistakenly believe that they are essentially harmless as they are vegetation eaters, and will keep or treat them as a pet, even when they are not hand reared, but a native wild animal. Kangaroos have sharp teeth, claws and powerful legs, which mean they are well able to attack or defend themselves (although a large adult has few threats apart from maybe a dingo or feral dog pack or a road haulage truck).
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| Fairground Kangaroo Boxing 1960's |
Such was the case with the 77-year-old man in Redmond, about 400km (250 miles) south of Perth. He had been treating a wild Kangaroo as a pet, but was found at his home with serious injuries, on Monday the 12th September 20202 by a relative, after apparently being attacked by his 'pet'. Emergency help was called, as the marsupial was preventing anyone approaching the injured man, but when paramedics arrived at the rural property, the kangaroo also prevented them from treating the man. So police were forced to shoot the marsupial dead, but the man also died at the scene.
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| Aussie Kangaroo Boxing Match |
Fatal attacks on humans are very rare, and indeed this is the first one reported in Australia since 1936, but as both we and them are upright animals this can some prompt some aggression in male kangaroos who can see us as a challenger. As usual its our constant encroachment on Kangaroo habitats that are bringing us and them in to potential conflict with a few minor human injuries in recent years.
Of course this willingness of male kangaroos to take a man on if they feel challenged ....
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| Night Club Kangaroo Boxing Match |
.... has led to a 'sport' or entertainment of 'Kangaroo Boxing' .... now it must be said that this fighting is natural to the male kangaroos, who are not hurt in the activity, which is usually staged as an entertainment rather than some sort of death match ... in fact its the human who risks seriously being injured by being bitten, getting a broken bone, or even being disembowelled if the kangaroo catches them with its hind legs.
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| 10 Rounds Bare Knuckle With Roger |
Personally my money would always have been on Roger ..... no contest.
Brilliant. Roger is a real bruiser. No contest.
ReplyDeleteYep. Sadly missed. Thanks for the comment.
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