Saturday, July 19, 2008

Kuddly kangaroos

One of Australia's biggest attractions is its unique wildlife, much of it furry and cuddly.

Like koalas and kangaroos.

Or so the story goes. In reality they're wild animals and need to be treated with respect.

From today's Sydney Morning Herald:

A 65-year-old woman mauled by a kangaroo on her central western NSW farm is lucky to be alive, with the animal only stopping its attack when it was chased away by the farm dog, her son says.

Rosemary Neal was rushed to Mudgee Hospital suffering facial lacerations and other injuries, after being attacked on her nearby farm yesterday afternoon while checking on horses in a paddock.

Her son Darren said his mother was lucky to be alive after being attacked by the male kangaroo - which he estimated to have been up to two metres tall, and weighing 100kg.

"The kangaroo has just jumped up and launched straight at her. He hit her once and she just dropped and rolled. My dog heard her screaming and bolted down and chased him off. It it wasn't for the dog she'd probably be dead.''

"My mum is 65 years old and about five-and-a-half foot,'' he said. "Her face has been ripped apart, her hand has been mauled, and she's got scratches all over her back and concussion."


Don't let it put you off, it's a fantastic place for a holiday - but don't try to stroke the cute looking animals you see in the paddocks.

The story is here.

3 comments:

Alexander said...

:)

And did you see the story last week about the Koala that survived being hit by a truck and taken 7 miles down the road stuck to its radiator?

I thought that read marvellously like a Warner Brothers cartoon! :)

Seabee said...

Yes I did see that story. An Aussie version of the fairly regular UK story of cats sleeping on the radiator of a car overnight for the warmth and ending up being driven to the office the next morning.

Em said...

i still like koalas...