Western grey kangaroos are common in Australia’s southwest
(Picture: AP)A man has been killed by a kangaroo he was keeping as pet, police have said.
The 77-year-old man was found by a relative with “serious injuries” on his property in the town of Redmond, Western Australia, about 250 south-east of Perth, on Sunday.
Police said it was believed he had been attacked earlier in the day by the kangaroo, which officers shot dead because it was preventing paramedics from reaching the injured man.
“The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders,” the statement said.
It was reportedly the first fatal attack by a kangaroo in Australia since 1936.
The man died at the scene. Police are preparing a report for a coroner who will record an official cause to death.
Police believe the victim had been keeping the wild kangaroo as a pet. There are legal restrictions on keeping Australian native fauna as pets.
Western grey kangaroos are common in Australia’s southwest. They can weigh up to 54 kilograms and stand 1.3 metres tall.
The males can be aggressive and fight people with the same techniques as they use with each other. They use their short upper limbs to grapple with their opponent, use their muscular tails to take their body weight, then lash out with both their powerful clawed hind legs.
In 1936, William Cruickshank, 38, died in a hospital in Hillston in New South Wales state on the Australian east coast months after he had been attacked by a kangaroo.
Mr Cruickshank suffered extensive head injuries including a broken jaw as he attempted to rescue his two dogs from a large kangaroo, Tthe Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported at the time.
