A 74-year-old St Arnaud man has been left scarred and his clothing seriously torn after a kangaroo attack.
Key points:
- Brian O’Donnell, 74, was attacked and injured by a grey-coloured kangaroo at St Arnaud on Saturday night
- He narrowly escaped on his motorcycle after it released him from a headlock
- Mr O’Donnell received stitches for a large gash to his leg, and antibiotics
Brian O’Donnell said he was alone, riding a small Honda motorcycle across his farming property to check on a cow that was due to give birth on Saturday night when a lone male kangaroo began following him.
Rather than jumping the fence toward another group of kangaroos, the large male, which Mr O’Donnell estimated to be seven feet, or 2.1 metres tall, jumped into a dam and “started growling and jumping up and down”.
“I started to move away slowly on the bike,” Mr O’Donnell said.
“Next thing I know he was on top of me.”
Mr O’Donnell’s clothing was torn and he received a large wound on his left calf as the kangaroo held him in a headlock.
“He had his top paws right around my back. We were almost headbutting each other,” he said.
“I just kept punching him until he let me go and [the kangaroo] jumped away, about 15 metres.”
(Supplied: Sue O’Donnell)
Mr O’Donnell said he barely had time to pick up his motorcycle and escape as the kangaroo charged a second time.
“One more jump and he would’ve been on top of me again,” he said.
Mr O’Donnell’s wife Sue was at home enjoying a glass of wine when he returned on his motorcycle.
She quickly rushed him to the local health service to receive stitches, bandages over the wounds, and antibiotics.
“If he hadn’t had on a thick T-shirt the abrasions would have been more severe,” Ms O’Donnell said.
Roo safety
Mr O’Donnell speculated the kangaroo — which was grey, and could have been an eastern grey kangaroo which is known to attack people — was protecting a mob of female kangaroos in the adjoining paddock when it attacked.
However, Victorian wildlife management consultant Ian Temby said the attack was more likely due to surprise or misinterpreted signals from Mr O’Donnell.
“One of the worst things you can do is stand up [to a male kangaroo],” he said.
“They see that as a threat.”
He also said Mr O’Donnell’s punches were unlikely to have helped him escape.
“They’ve got especially tough skin on their belly to cope with that,” Mr Temby said.
“If you stand up to a kangaroo there’s a chance you could get ripped open.”
Mr O’Donnell is recovering at home.
The cow that he was checking on has still not given birth.
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