Man survives fight with stressed roo by throwing 'backward elbows'

Australia Broadcast Center

9 hours ago

Don James doesn't know what to make of his new nickname "Kangaroo Don-dee".
But after emerging relatively unscathed from a kangaroo attack in floodwaters on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, he has become the talk of his small town.
During record-breaking flooding, Port Macquarie North Shore resident Don James was surveying damage on his street and spotted a large kangaroo nearby.
"He was just a big fella by himself on the side of the road, feeding, eating grass. I stopped to take a picture of him," Mr James said.
The large marsupial jumped toward a nearby vehicle and started hitting itself into the car's bonnet, before it noticed Mr James standing 40 metres away.
"It has its head turned and has seen me up the road and just made a beeline straight for me," he said.
"There was no time to react."
Mr James leapt off the side of the road into nearby floodwater to let the distressed animal pass by.
"As I've hit the water and turned back around, bang, he was on me," he said.
"It all happened very quickly."
Mr James quickly recalled learning in his youth that kangaroos could disembowel animals like dogs when they were distressed.
"Before I knew it, I was under the water. I know that's what kangaroos do to drown you or rip you open," he said.
"I started throwing backwards elbows, instantly trying to get up because I was under the water.
"I could push myself up and then make myself big and make a hell of a lot of noise."
The animal got scared and hopped away.
Ending up relatively unscathed — with just a sore back but with "no holes" — a "very lucky" Mr James was running on adrenaline and shock.
"In the 10 minutes after when other people were standing around going 'whoa', like that was full on and really realising that it was a dangerous situation," he said.
One of those shocked onlookers was neighbour Kristy Lees, who witnessed the ordeal through the rearview mirror of her car.
"The kangaroo was on top of him Don and I could see his head trying to stick out of the water," Ms Lees said.
"It's quite scary what happened."
Ms Lees said the attack opened her eyes to what kangaroos were capable of.
"He [Don] was just shaking. I've never seen someone shake like that before. He was super, super shocked."
When record-breaking floods lashed the NSW Mid North Coast in May, Mr James's home was without power for five days and floodwaters rose into his home.
He believed the kangaroo was experiencing the stress of having its habitat affected by the event.
"He's trying to survive too."
Eastern grey kangaroos can grow as large as 2.3 metres from head to tail and weigh up to 95 kilograms.
Fewer than five people are treated for kangaroo-related injuries each year in NSW, according to the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
Meredith Ryan, president of For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA), said floods could cause frightened and hungry kangaroos to behave abnormally.
She said kangaroos could cause damage with their powerful hind limbs and sharp nails.
"If you do come across a kangaroo in a threatening position, you don't look it in the eyes, you walk quietly away, don't run," she said.
"If it does come for you, fall onto the ground in a ball and make sure to cover your head and your throat because that's where the animal will attack."