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KANGAROO ATTACKS
Australians in the nation's drought-ravaged capital have been to keep their distance from aggressive kangaroos after the iconic marsupials attacked one woman and killed a pet dog.
Eastern Grey kangaroos, can grow 1.7 meters tall and weigh 70 kg, have started moving out of the parched bush into inner Canberra suburbs during the day to look for grass and water. This in increased contact with people.
A senior wildlife ecologist with Environment ACT, Murray Evans, said on Wednesday the kangaroos could pose a threat to people and dogs. A woman was savaged by a large kangaroo as she was walking her small dog in a paddock last week. "Her dog went near the kangaroo and she followed. Suddenly the kangaroo lashed out, her down the side of her body," Evans said.
Another woman told how a kangaroo drowned one of the four dogs she was walking with a friend, attacking it in a pond and holding it under the water with its hind legs while it hit out at one of the other dogs with its front legs. "My friend started shouting: 'There's a kangaroo in the pond. It's got Summer'. It was surreal, like your worst nightmare," Christine Canham said. "She was screaming and screaming. The kangaroo just stared back at us. I will never forget that."
It is not for kangaroos to into water if they feel threatened. As a last defence, they try to drown their predator with their powerful hind legs.
Most of the behavioral change in the usually placid animals is due to the scarcity of feed after a run of dry years in Canberra as Australia its worst drought in a century. Kangaroos usually shelter by day and at dusk to feed during the night. The reduction in available grass means they are now traveling by day in search of food. This has dramatically increased the number of encounters with people – and dogs. "Kangaroos and dogs just do not . Kangaroos see dogs as a threat and get by them," Evans said.
People should remember that kangaroos may look cuddly and furry but as with any wild animals, people should keep their distance and keep dogs on leads when they are in the same area.