An Australian alpaca farmer was savagely beaten to death by his pet kangaroo in the country’s first fatal attack by one of the marsupials in 86 years.
Peter Eades, 77, was found by a relative at his property in Redmond, near Albany in Western Australia’s Great Southern region, after suffering serious injuries at about 5pm (10am UK time) on Sunday.
Police were called to assist after the kangaroo became aggressive, preventing paramedics from accessing the farmer to treat his injuries so were forced to shoot the marsupial dead.
Mr Eades tragically died at the scene of his injuries caused by the three-year-old kangaroo, which he reportedly raised since it was a joey (a baby kangaroo).
The fatal kangaroo attack occurred in Redmond, less than 20km from Albany.
The last fatal kangaroo attack in Australia was in 1936 when hunter William Cruickshank, 38, tried to rescue his two dogs from a fight with a kangaroo in Hillston in western New South Wales.
He suffered a broken jaw and extensive head injuries and later died in hospital.
The Great Southern region is home to the western grey kangaroo, which can grow to be about 70 kilograms and 97 to 223 centimetres from head to tail.
Wildlife expert Hayley Shute, the curator of the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales’s Central Coast, has revealed the warning signs a kangaroo is about to attack.
She said kangaroos will puff out their chests, lean back on their tails and do anything to ‘make themselves look bigger’ if they feel threatened.
‘Male kangaroos will battle one another to be the alpha male,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Their bodies are built for kicking and fighting their nickname is the boxing kangaroo.
