page_title: Animal attacks in Australia
section_title: Kangaroos
hierarchical_section_title: Animal attacks in Australia / Land / Kangaroos
caption_attribution_description: from the National Library Australian newspapers digitisation program which are pre-1955 so no copyright: "The service includes newspapers published in each state and territory from the 1800s to the mid-1950s, when copyright applies."
context_page_description: Wildlife attacks in Australia occur every year from several different native species, including snakes, spiders, crocodiles, sharks, stingrays and stonefish and a variety of smaller marine creatures such as bluebottles, blue-ringed octopus, cone shells and jellyfish.
context_section_description: Kangaroo attacks in Australia are rare because kangaroos are usually docile however can attack if provoked or cornered, and have been known to kill dogs. Very occasionally they can attack even if not provoked. If there is a shortage of food, kangaroos will enter suburbs and have caused attacks (which may be unintentional or in self-defence), as noted in Melbourne and Canberra.
  There were two incidents in 1999 and 2002, and 15 to 20 reports in the area between Coffs Harbour and Sydney. The New South Wales Court of Appeal ruled in Shorten v Grafton District Golf Club (2000) that a golf course had a duty of care to warn patrons of the danger of kangaroo attack, after a 13-year-old boy was injured by one in 1996.
  The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management mentions kangaroos can be aggressive towards people, and advises that if approached by an aggressive kangaroo, people should keep it at a distance so that it cannot kick or scratch. An Animal Planet video on avoiding kangaroo attacks says the main defence is to keep moving out of the animal's kicking range.
  Several of the attacks have been widely reported in international media. In particular a 1988 attack in the Grampians which was filmed was shown on World's Most Shocking Moments and reported elsewhere. The 1996 attack on the golf course in Grafton was shown on After the Attack and reported by National Geographic and others. The recent attacks in Sunbury were widely reported in Australia as well as international media. In March 2009 a kangaroo smashed through the window of a suburban house in Garran which also made international news.
caption: Kangaroo attacks described in old newspapers.
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