Runners need not be reminded of the various hazards in the streets which may pose a threat to their health. Time and again we've been told to take your earphones off to hear any cars coming from behind, to keep an eye open for suspicious characters lurking on the corner, and not to run away from, but instead raise your arms to appear bigger to menacing stray dogs. But if you're living in the Land Down Under, you have to worry about one more thing: kangaroos.
Cherie showed me this article from the Sydney Morning Herald about a 25-year old male runner who was "knocked out cold by a rogue kangaroo." David Striegl, who has painfully earned the nickname "Skippy" after his encounter, was out for a lunchbreak run at Canberra's Mount Ainslie when one of the resident 'roos knocked him unconscious.
"I said no photos!"
I've been very fortunate to see these incredible creatures from a safe distance in the wild (sort of--Cherie's folks' front yard teems with kangaroos from time to time) and I've seen first hand how fast and massive they are. So after hearing about the story, my immediate question was, what the heck do you do when you come face to face with a kangaroo? Do you play dead? Curl up in a fetal position? Run like hell? Imitate the cries of a dying baby giraffe? With my deepening interest in trail running and considering future plans, I kinda need to know.
My question was anwered at the end of the article (emphasis mine):
Striegl's attack comes a year after a crazed kangaroo crashed through a sleeping family's window at Garran, in Canberra's south, before going on a rampage through their home.
Beat Ettlin, his partner Verity Beman and their nine-year-old daughter Beatrix hid under blankets as the two-metre high animal jumped on top of them and gouged holes and their furniture.
Mr Ettlin eventually wrestled the thrashing animal and dragged it out of the house, saving his family from serious injury.
Damn. That guy is seriously bad ass.
Image via source
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