Posted on 11/24/2009 7:23:29 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
An Australian man has been slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.
Chris Rickard was walking his blue heeler Rocky yesterday morning when they surprised a sleeping kangaroo in Arthur's Creek, north-east of Melbourne.
The dog chased the animal into a pond but it then turned and pinned the pet underwater.
When 49-year-old Rickard tried to pull his dog free, the kangaroo turned on him, attacking with its hind legs and tearing a deep gash into his abdomen and across his face.
Mr Rickard, now in a stable condition, said: "I thought I might take a hit or two dragging the dog out from under his grip, but I didn't expect him to actually attack me.
"It was a shock at the start because it was a kangaroo, about 5ft high - they don't go around killing people."
Kangaroos rarely attack humans but will fight if they feel threatened.
Dogs often chase kangaroos, which have been known to lead the pets into water and then pin them underwater as a means of defence.
Mr Rickard said he ended the attack by elbowing the kangaroo in the throat, adding Rocky was "half-drowned" when he pulled him from the water.
Don’t bring a dog to a kangaroo fight?
Good for the kangaroo.
Kangaroos are nothing to mess with I hear. This story made me think about racoons. They’re notorious for leading dogs into water and drowning them too.
I did not see that coming! :)
Sorry but I can’t help myself...
let a few kangaroos loose in the White House...Old Abe and George would get a kick out of that...
Bravo for saving the Rocky.
The man was trying to save his dog, the kangaroo was holding his dog under water.
I’m not too surprised by this. I’ve had big male roos treat me as a challenger just while hiking through ‘their’ paddock during the mating season.
Australia is a great place to live once you accept that pretty much anything here can kill you, or at least try to kill you given the right circumstances.
Gee, I’m surprised no one else said this already: If Australia had a “right to carry” the story would have ended very differently. Gun control can kill you in a lot of different ways.
Yeah, but the dog started it. ;-)
?
Danger! Danger!
If the kanga don't kill ya, the cassowary will:
It’s a long way to cassowary, it’s a long way to go.
Absolutely. Step on the wrong seashell....or even get a tick bite, and you can be dead.
And yet, I think it is the greatest place in the world!
We in Montana, appreciate surviving harsh circumstances.
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