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Most people know Australia is overflowing with deadly animals you don’t want to encounter, but kangaroos aren’t typically included on that list. However, officials believe one may have been responsible for the death of a man in South Carolina after his body was found in an enclosure in a petting zoo.
In 2022, a 77-year-old man in Australia who was keeping a wild kangaroo as a pet was killed by the animal, which marked the first time one of the marsupials was deemed responsible for the death of a human being in The Land Down Under since 1936.
That really tells you all you need to know about the temperament of kangaroos, who firmly outnumber the human population in Australia and are known for being fairly docile creatures that will rarely go after people unless they’re provoked.
There have been a number of viral videos featuring Aussies fighting the creatures (most of which involve incidents where their dogs drew the ire of kangaroos), but you usually don’t want to go out of your way to square up with the muscular creatures that boast massive legs that can deliver more than 750 pounds of force if they decide to kick you.
According to The Guardian, the brother of a man who keeps kangaroos at his petting zoo in South Carolina had a tendency to do exactly that, and authorities think it may have resulted in his demise.
On Saturday, police and paramedics were dispatched to 5 Star Farm in the town of Loris and were greeted by the body of Eric Slate, the 52-year-old man who the Horry County coroner subsequently determined had passed away of “multiple blunt injuries” in an enclosure that was home to wallabies and kangaroos.
Investigators said Slate, whose brother Robert owns the petting zoo, died on Friday night and believe his death was linked to a kangaroo named Jack, an animal he reportedly liked to “roughhouse” with for his amusement.
Robert issued a statement addressing his brother’s death on Facebook while saying an autopsy still needs to be conducted to determine the official cause, and a member of the county council added there are currently no plans to euthanize the kangaroo that may have been responsible for what seems like a freak occurrence.
He also spoke with WRDW and made it clear he was skeptical that Jack was actually responsible, saying:
“If there was a trauma or if it was Jack, I feel like there would have been more signs. His clothes wouldn’t have been intact.
[Jack] is pretty chill, laid back, especially for a male kangaroo. He stands up and tries to show his dominance like kangaroos do. He tries to play.”
Officials estimate the autopsy will take at least a month to complete, so new information could emerge in the coming weeks.