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If you’re not from Australia, you might be surprised to learn that kangaroos, though the symbol of the country, are mostly seen as annoying, aggressive pests by locals. They damage crops and threaten agricultural progress in addition to accounting for 80% of vehicle-animal collisions, and with large male kangaroos reaching heights of 6.5 feet and weighing up to 200 pounds, they’re not exactly simple to subdue.
Despite their frequent interactions with humans (and cars) they’re still plentiful (down under) – their numbers are estimated at around 50 million.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Multiple videos of people physically fighting off aggressive, angry kangaroos have gone viral recently, like the one of a couple trying to feed a wild kangaroo and ending up needing to be saved by their son, and the other of a man punching a kangaroo in an (ultimately successful) effort to save his dog.
Now, a new Aussie is going viral after an encounter. Jonathan Bishop had been paragliding across Southeastern Australia for about 2 hours when he began his descent toward the Orroral Valley tracking station (near Canberra). He was recording his landing with a helmet cam, which is, of course, what made this viral moment possible.
Image Credit: YouTube
“I was concentrating on the landing and didn’t notice the kangaroo until after I landed,” he wrote in his YouTube video.
Well, it’s safe to say the kangaroo noticed Bishop – the angry animal races for him, squares up, and power hooks the paraglider right in the face.
Image Credit: YouTube
“As it ran toward me I thought it was being friendly so I said, ‘What’s up, Skip?’ It then attacked me twice before hopping away.”
Bishop, in true Aussie fashion, muttered “F*cking kangaroos,” before packing up his paragliding regalia and hiking somewhere with phone reception and calling for a ride home.
The video has been viewed more than 1 million times. Crikey.
