Shane Rattenbury said he was out running in a suburb of the capital
Canberra when he suddenly came up against an eastern grey kangaroo
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."
Mr Rattenbury tweeted his encounter along with a picture of his
bloodied legs, saying: "Mugged by a kangaroo! And this was in the
suburbs, had not even got to the nature park!"
The politician said the 1.4 metre (4ft 7ins) tall kangaroo knocked him
to the pavement, the claws of its powerful hind legs drawing blood with
two scratches to his left leg. His right leg was painfully bruised by
the pavement.
Moments later, a passer-by noticed Mr Rattenbury was injured and drove him home. MP Shane Rattenbury injured his left leg in the attack
His mother heard of her son's plight on a radio news bulletin and took
him to a walk-in clinic, where a nurse cleaned his wounds and gave him a
tetanus shot.
"The nurse who treated me had treated someone before who had been
scratched by a kangaroo and ended up with a very bad infection," Mr
Rattenbury said. "So she was quite keen to give it a good clean-out."
Mr Rattenbury limped into the Australian Capital Territory state
parliament a few minutes before Thursday's session began and more than
three hours after his painful brush with nature.
He was bemused that many people seemed more concerned about the kangaroo's welfare than his.
"I can assure people that the kangaroo is fine," he said. "It was last seen hopping off into the distance quite comfortably."
Kangaroos are among Australia's most loved native species. A kangaroo
and an emu feature on the nation's coat of arms. But kangaroos are so
numerous around Canberra that the ACT government maintains a
controversial culling program to contain them.
Mr Rattenbury, who is a member of the environmentally focused Greens
party, said he accepts the scientific evidence that kangaroo numbers
have to be controlled around Canberra. Thursday's close encounter did
not change that.
"Without a predator, kangaroos have increased their abundance and have a
detrimental impact on the rest of the ecosystem," he said. "The Greens
have not opposed that cull."
He added: "I really enjoy seeing kangaroos and we're very lucky in
Canberra to have them as part of our neighbourhoods, but I usually
prefer to keep them at a bit more of a distance than this."
Kangaroos rarely harm people, although in 2009 one jumped through a
bedroom window of a Canberra home late at night and terrorised a family
before a householder wrestled it out the front door.
Wildlife veterinarian Karen Vickers said more kangaroos were likely to
venture deeper into Canberra suburbs in search of watered lawns to feed
in the drier months ahead and that people should be wary.
"It sounds like they startled each other and Shane came off worse," she
told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. "They're really not out to get
us."
The attack clearly did not cause Mr Rattenbury to lose his sense of
humour. He added later on twitter: "I believe the roo is fine - escaped
the scene quickly, but did fail to get my watch or wallet for those who
were wondering ..."
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