A 77-year-old Australian man has been killed by a kangaroo that he was believed to be keeping as a pet, the first such deadly attack in the country in nearly 86 years.
Peter Eades was discovered with “serious injuries” on his Western Australian property by a family member. First responders arrived on the scene and eventually shot the kangaroo before pronouncing Eades dead at the scene, according to police.
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“The kangaroo was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders and the attending officers were required to euthanize the kangaroo by firearm,” police told WA Today.
Eades is believed to have been a local alpaca breeder, according to CBS. He was found badly wounded Sunday in Redmond, Australia, which is located roughly 250 miles southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Police believe the attack occurred the same day he was found, the outlet reported.
Under Australian law, citizens must obtain a permit to keep kangaroos as pets, but it is not immediately clear if Eades acquired the necessary permit, the New York Times reported. The western gray kangaroo, which can reach a weight of nearly 120 pounds, lives in Western Australia.
The last known person to be killed in a kangaroo attack in Australia was William Cruickshank, 38, who succumbed to extensive wounds to his head and face in 1936 when he tried to save his dogs from a kangaroo, the Associated Press reported.
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While fatal encounters with kangaroos are uncommon in Australia due to the animal’s instinct to flee in tense situations, kangaroos have been known to injure humans on occasion.
A woman was left with a broken leg in Queensland following an attack in July, and in April, a woman was stomped on while playing golf in Queensland.
