A kangaroo broke into a house in Canberra and stomped on the sleeping occupants. I have a few questions for my Australian readers. Is this a common phenomenon? Can you get insurance for this kind of incident? Is it just a "Canberra thing", or a nationwide menace?
Similar animal mayhem in the U.S (via Rebecca in the comments).
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A dozen years ago a friend was being stationed to Australia by the Navy and was told he'd have to get a cow catcher put on his car because the roos were a menace on the roads. We laughed about it but sure enough when he arrived he found it really was necessary.
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It's the first incidence I've heard of. It could have been scary though as they fight like demons.
ReplyDeleteWe have hundreds of eastern greys at the golf course and they show little emotion even when you wander among them looking for a lost ball. But if two of the bigger boys decide to have a punch off you don't want to be near them. They have dangerous claws and can kill with a whack of their large heavy tails. Mehaul.
Never heard of this happening before.
ReplyDeleteKangaroos are wild animals, they are timid unless grappling at close quarters.
They don't go near to humans, and certainly not into houses.
Unless they are extremely hungry (see circumstances at a certain defence facility a couple of years ago).
From the article it seems the roo was bounding along & mistook the window for an open space to hop through (how large was the window?)
Their hind legs are very strong, with a large nail/claw. They fight by balancing on their tail & kicking forward & down with their hind legs. Perfect for disembowelling humans.
This bloke did well to get one in a headlock & not get slashed to bits.
Grabbing them by the tail and pointing them in the direction you want them to go should work,... but.. ah.... the dilemma is how to let the roo go, without it spinning round & getting stuck into you?
Steve: "the dilemma is how to let the roo go"; I was wondering exactly how one goes about doing that, myself. And you're right; the homeowner must have been a mighty man, indeed, to have gotten the roo in a headlock and dragged him outdoors.
ReplyDelete"My initial thought, when I was half awake, was it's a lunatic ninja coming through the window. It seems about as likely as a kangaroo breaking in," Beat Ettlin told local media Monday.
ReplyDeleteSounds like he wasn't too hoppy about it.
But he had a spring in his step after, though.
Maybe it doesn't happen in Occupied Northern Virginia, but here in Ohio, we get deer invasions. They are also a hazard on the highways during mating and hunting seasons.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention Cougars roaming the downtown beverage establishments ...
ReplyDeleteCheers
Thereby hangs a tail!
ReplyDeleteCanberra is infested with nearly as many greenies as Kangaroos, and culls are just not on! Nor are burn-offs in the local National Parks, which visited the worst ever bushfire on Canberra in 2003. Similar circumstances to the Victorian fires this year, similar root causes, and I don't mean climate.
I've heard of similar incidents, mostly roos going through glass patio doors and into kitchens/loungerooms. The key part here is the presence of a dog.
ReplyDeleteDogs and roos do not mix. Dogs go ballistic at roos who will generally spaz out and take off at warp 9 in any direction except the dog's.
If a dog manages to corner a roo (especially an adult) the roo WILL fight and the dog WILL be in for a world of pain or a gruesome death.
i dont know much about real kangaroos but a friend of mine had to step in to play the kangaroo in elliot gould's film Matilda when the real roo they tried to use wouldnt cooperate.
ReplyDeletei have a colourful assortment of friends ;)
Miss Red: So you're friend was a ...stunt kangaroo?
ReplyDeleteNo, but he played one in the movies...
ReplyDeleteI woke up to find a mouse in bed with me, a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteReally.
I didn't ask his intentions...I just picked him up, walked outside and threw the little bugger as far as I could. Sorry PETA.