A 77-year-old alpaca breeder died after being attacked by his pet kangaroo in rural Australia, with the animal then preventing paramedics from reaching him.
Peter Eades was found with serious injuries on his property in Redmond, Western Australia, in 2022 by a relative, who quickly called the police. On arrival, authorities determined that the man had likely been attacked earlier that day by a kangaroo that was still at the scene.
Animal blocked emergency responders
The animal was behaving aggressively, preventing paramedics from coming closer. The kangaroo refused to back down, standing over its injured owner and attacking anyone who attempted to reach him. Once it was concluded that the animal was an active threat to the emergency responders, officers shot and killed it in order to reach Eades.
By the time paramedics started their medical evaluation, Eades had already died at the scene. Further investigation revealed that he had been keeping the wild kangaroo as a pet, despite strict legal restrictions on keeping native wildlife in captivity in the area.
Permits extremely rare
According to a source at the local Native Animal Rescue service who spoke to the Associated Press, permits to keep kangaroos are extremely rare because adult animals can become highly dangerous in a domestic setting. Tanya Irwin added: “We don’t know what the situation was; if he was in pain or why he was being kept in captivity, and unfortunately… they’re not a cute animal, they’re a wild animal.”
The kangaroo that attacked Eades was a grey kangaroo, a species common across south-western Australia and capable of weighing up to 119 pounds and standing as tall as 4ft 3in. Males of the species are known to become particularly aggressive when confronted with situations they find threatening, capable of striking enemies with their upper limbs, muscular tail and clawed hind legs.
First fatal attack since 1936
The attack on Eades was the first fatal kangaroo-related incident in Australia since 1936, when 38-year-old William Cruickshank died in hospital while being treated for injuries sustained when fighting a kangaroo that was attacking his two dogs in New South Wales. At the time, the man received extensive head injuries, including a broken jaw, when fighting the large marsupial.
Apart from such cases, kangaroo attacks on humans are seen as extremely rare worldwide.
