Pet Kangaroo Kills Elderly Owner, Blocks Paramedics From Saving His Life

A kangaroo reportedly killed a man who tried to keep the animal as a pet and proceeded to block paramedics who were attempting to save the victim's life in Western Australia's Great Southern region on Sunday, Sept. 11.

The victim, an unnamed 77-year-old Western Australian man, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries in his home by a relative on Sunday, Sept. 11. Following this, paramedics were called to the man's property in Redmond, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Perth, near Albany for help, People reported.

However, when the ambulance and emergency responders arrived at the home, the victim's pet kangaroo prevented the paramedics from accessing the injured man. Following this, officers were called to assist. Law enforcement responded to the scene and fatally shot the kangaroo after it proved to be a threat to paramedics.

The elderly man, who is believed to have been attacked by the kangaroo earlier in the day, tragically died at the scene, the Daily Mail reported.

According to the authorities, the animal in question was a wild kangaroo less than 12 months old and was being kept as a pet by the victim.

"The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders and the attending officers were required to euthanize the kangaroo by firearm," a spokesman said.

The incident is the first deadly kangaroo attack in Australia in the last 86 years. The last fatal kangaroo attack happened in 1936 when 38-year-old hunter William Cruickshank was killed by a kangaroo when he tried to rescue his two dogs from a fight with the animal in Hillston in western NSW.

He suffered a broken jaw and extensive head injuries in the kangaroo attack and later succumbed to his injuries and died in a hospital.

The elderly victim's remains have been sent to the coroner's office to confirm his cause of death. According to the victim's neighbors, the elderly man lived by himself.

"The problem with kangaroos and people is we're both upright animals, we stand on our two feet, and an upright stance like that is a challenge to the male kangaroo," Associate Professor and kangaroo behavior expert Graeme Coulson said.

"Certainly if they're cornered or in some sort of distress, that can be quite dangerous," Coulson added.