"Australian politician attacked by kangaroo"

From The Guardian:

Shane Rattenbury, a minister in the Australian Capital Territory government that administers Canberra, said he was jogging along the pavement in suburban Ainslie when he almost collided with an eastern grey kangaroo that had been grazing on a front lawn.

"We both got a nasty fright – and of course when kangaroos are startled they lash out," the 41-year-old said. "As the kangaroo sought to escape, it landed on me, and its claws dug into my leg."

Rattenbury said the 1.4-metre (4ft 7in marsupial knocked him to ground, with the claws drawing blood from two deep scratches on his left leg. His right leg was bruised from the impact of the fall.

The minister was driven home by a passerby who spotted him lying injured on the roadside. He was taken to hospital, where his wounds were cleaned and he received a tetanus jab.

"Lone jogger gets roo'd shock..."

Spotted by Chuckles in The Courier Mail:

A QUEENSLAND man has survived a terrifying attack by an eastern grey kangaroo, delivering a knockout punch to the rogue animal's face...

Mr Young, 24, was jogging in a paddock near Everdell Park at Gleneagle when the roo squared up against him and landed a swift kick to his stomach.

"I was running along when I spotted a buck and a doe with her joey on the other side of the fence," he said. "I was about 30 yards from the mob ... when the doe started to hop toward me. She looked friendly enough so I didn't give it much thought but then she hopped in my path and came at me, growling and hissing. She started clawing at me so I whacked her a couple of times to get her away."

Probably sounds quite funny if you read it with an Australian accent.

Probably something to do with global warming

From The Independent:

Basking sharks, the world's second largest fish, are thought to be mounting a recovery in UK waters following the end of commercial hunting. Sightings have not only increased over the past 20 years but the size of the individual sharks seen has also grown, a classic sign of population recovery. More than 81,000 basking sharks were caught in the North-east Atlantic from 1952 to 2004 but they are now widely protected.

Also from The Independent (spotter's badge - Bob E):

While motorists in Australia will be familiar with warnings about errant wallabies, the people of Gloucestershire are now being asked to keep their eyes peeled for the animals. In the past few days Gloucestershire Police have received a number of calls from people reporting sightings of a wallaby or kangaroo on the A40 near Highnam. The most recent report was on Monday, shortly after 10pm.

"Woman stalked by rogue kangaroo"

Spotted by Bob E in The Daily Mail, worth a read in full but here's the gist:

A hostile kangaroo launched a savage assault on a mother after spending two days stalking her - then attacked her husband as she recovered in hospital... It was the third time Mrs McWilliams had been confronted by the intimidating animal at her home near Port Macquarie, northern New South Wales, Australia.

While Mrs McWilliams recovered in hospital the animal faced up to Mr McWilliams, fortunately he was able to fend it off with a shovel. A day later, after the kangaroo attacked a third person, NPWS officials issued a permit to shoot the kangaroo.

It seems overly lenient to operate a "three strikes and you're out" policy with regard to violent animals, but I always wonder, how is the shooter supposed to recognise the animal concerned anyway?

The comments under the article are a hoot. For example,: "Why didn't she "tie her kangaroo down", sport?".

"Kicking Kangaroo KO’s Kiddie"

Pavlov's Cat has spotted another incident of 'roo rage.

"It's a miracle I'm alive"

From The Daily Mail:

Dog walker describes terrifying attack by a kangaroo... Janet Karson, from Deanmill in southwestern Australia, required more than 20 stitches to her ears following the assault and was convinced at the time she would die.

She was strolling with her two dogs on Saturday and, when one ran ahead, the animal was confronted by the huge marsupial, who appeared by surprise...

Kangaroo attacks against humans are rare, but they do happen occasionally. In July, a 94-year-old Australian woman fought off an attacking red kangaroo with a broom before police subdued the animal with pepper spray.

Strewth, Sheila etc.

Kangaroo leaves owner, 80, in hospital...

From The Daily Mail:

The 80-year-old owner of an exotic animal farm was hospitalised after he was subjected to a brutal 15 minute assault - by a kangaroo. John Kokas was repeatedly punched in the face and upper body by the aggressive 6ft, 200lb three-year-old red male.

He had reared the animal, which had never attacked before, since it was six months old - but now faces having to put it down... Experts believe Tuesday's attack, at the Kokas Exotics Animals Farm outside Green Camp, Marion County, Ohio, occurred because the beast was protecting a female on heat.

"Or something like that"

From ABC Western Queensland:

Police have used capsicum spray to subdue a kangaroo that attacked an elderly woman in Charleville in Queensland's south-west... Police officers were called to the house on the old Cunnamulla Road on Sunday after reports that a woman had been knocked to the ground and kicked several times by a kangaroo.

Senior Sergeant Stephen Perkins said he's never heard* of a similar incident. "The officers had to use their O-C spray on the kangaroo to avoid being attacked. Once the kangaroo was sprayed, it left the immediate area. Quite often dogs do attack police officers and we are forced to use capsicum spray on the dog to stop being bitten, but never on a kangaroo," he said.

Mrs Johnson's son, Rob Johnson, said authorities should consider euthanasing the red kangaroo that attacked his elderly mother. The kangaroo was probably someone's pet that's turned aggressive, said Mr Johnson, "It's either got to be put down or penned up in a zoo or something like that."

The article continues in the same merry vein for several paragraphs, well worth a read.

* I note that the Australians are mixing up their past tenses in the same way the English now do. What the reporter should have written is "Senior Sergeant Stephen Perkins said that he had never heard..."

Spotted by John B.

Why not raise money for a helicopter gunship* instead?

From the BBC:

A Sussex woman injured when she was trampled on by cows is planning to run a triathlon to raise money for the air ambulance that rescued her. Claire Morris, 42, was knocked to the ground by the animals while out walking her dog near her home in Heathfield. The mother-of-two was taken to hospital suffering from a broken shoulder, three broken ribs and nerve damage.

* Like the ones that were used against those marauding kangaroos?

Animal Attack Story/Euphemism Of The Week

Anti-Citzen One alerts me to this heart warming tale.

Highlight:

She said: 'I turned around and saw this big kangaroo behind me, so I hastened my steps. It seemed a bit odd, but I continued walking and didn't think much about it. Then on the return walk he was there waiting for me. With his male pride on full alert, he started circling me.'

The article ends with this:

There were reports that a male speedway fan confronted the kangaroo in a bid to scare it away, but came off second best when it punched him in the face.

Fun with numbers

This article makes me feel a bit sorry for Australian kangaroos, but there's a good bit right at the end:

Animal rights campaigners believe Australia's kangaroos are on the brink of extinction. They dispute government figures that estimate there are about 25 million of these furry pouched creatures spread across the continent.

"Man killed by flying kangaroo"

Here's one I appear to have overlooked - from The Metro 17 October 2009:

A man is dead after a large kangaroo crashed through his car windscreen in Australia, police said Tuesday. The 4 foot-plus kangaroo was struck by a four-wheel-drive on the road, and catapaulted into the path of the victim's oncoming car, police said of the incident near Manjimup town in Western Australian outback.

A police statement said: 'The animal went through the windscreen of the sedan and into the back seat causing the driver to lose control and crash the vehicle'

Police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall said the kangaroo hit the 50-year-old driver as it flew through the car, causing him serious head injuries. He was airlifted to a Perth hospital, but died on Monday, police said. 'It was very unfortunate,' Weatherall understated.

"Angry kangaroo slashes man in underwater dog attack"

Animal attacks being taken to new levels in today's Metro.