Sunday, March 21, 2010

25-year-old man David Striegl was knocked unconscious by a kangaroo on the Mount Ainslie nature reserve in the Australian capital Canberra on Thursday. He received cuts and bruises and a black eye after being scratched and hit by the kangaroo. Mount Ainslie is located near the centre of the Australian capital, with Australia’s parliament houses designed to be viewed from the top of the mountain.

He does not remember much about the incident, only that he turned around and saw the kangaroo which hit him in the face. He said that the kangaroo scratched him at first then guessed that it must have hit him which caused him to lose consciousness. He was taken to hospital by a motorist who was passing by. At the hospital he was given x-rays and a tetanus shot before being discharged.

Striegl had been jogging up the mountain during his lunch break. Joggers and cyclists are common on the mountain, which is located a few kilometres from the city centre. He was a former Australian rules footballer, and says he had never been in a fight, until being hit by the kangaroo. He had seen kangaroos box each other before but didn’t know they would box people. He said he would not have thrown a punch back if he had the chance because of their status as a national symbol, and he has no hard feelings against kangaroos. His colleagues at the United Group Ltd. real estate office where he works have given him the nickname Skippy, after the famous television show. He said he will continue jogging at the reserve, but with company next time.

Injuries from kangaroos in Australia are rare, and it is almost unheard of for someone to be knocked out by one. This attack comes a year after a kangaroo crashed through a window of a house in Canberra before rampaging through the house.