Tourist fights off kangaroo trying to get 'frisky' with woman

An American man visiting his daughter Down Under probably wasn't planning on adding "fighting Australian wildlife" to his itinerary – or going viral for it.

While attending a wildlife park in Perth with his family, the US resident can be seen shielding another visitor from the small kangaroo and gently saying "that's enough". That is, before the animal decides to get on his hind legs and challenge him.

"My dad was just trying to make sure that kangaroo stopped getting frisky with that lady," his daughter explained on TikTok.

"My family doesn’t live here like I do, so they came for a visit and squaring up with a kangaroo was definitely not on their to do list!"

In the video, which has already racked up more than 15 million views since being posted on Sunday, the roo can be seen grabbing at the dad's arm before kicking him in one quick, and likely painful, motion.

The captivating stand-off goes on for a solid two minutes, during which the man keeps backing off while holding an admonishing finger at the roo in parent-like fashion while the marsupial keeps trying to fight him. A teenager, possibly the man's son, even tries to come to his rescue, only to also become a target of the animal's ire.

In the end it's a staff member who finally breaks up the fight, simply coming up to the roo and saying "naughty boy", at which point it admits defeat.

"The workers came over with food for him," the daughter added in the comments.

'Great holiday story'

The video garnered more than 14,000 comments, with some calling the incident "scary" while others thought it was "the best thing ever".

"The roo woke up and chose violence," one person joked.

"At least no one was hurt! Your dad will have an awesome story when he goes home — he fought Australian wildlife and won," another said.

"That kangaroo has the same tenacity as all of us Aussies after a few beers," a third person quipped.

"That is hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing. I’m sure your dad didn’t think it was funny at the time," one TikTok user said.

Some also pointed out that the kangaroo was "play fighting", saying the man wouldn't have been so lucky if he was facing off with a "big red".

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What to do if a kangaroo attacks you

Kangaroo attacks on humans are quite rare and deaths even more so — a man was killed by his pet roo in WA last year, which was the first fatal attack since 1936. In fact the opposite is far more common, with there being an uptick in kangaroos being hit by cars this year.

However a roo's kick or punch can be pretty painful, with the man and boy being "very lucky not to be injured", WIRES Head of Wildlife Welfare Matt French told Yahoo News.

"They have very large toenails and claws, and when they kick with very powerful legs, they can do a lot of damage," he said.

While it's unclear what caused the roo to adopt such a stance, Mr French gave some tips on what a person should do in that situation.

"The number one thing to do is back away and there were lots of opportunities in the video for both the man and the boy to do so," he said. "Don't turn your back — you want to keep the animal in your sight — don't look directly in their eyes, as that's very threatening for a lot of mammals.

"Make yourself smaller, having your hands in front of your vital areas at the front. And when the opportunity presents, also put a barrier between you and the kangaroo, which the man could've done by stepping over that rail where the cockatoos were.

"You don't need to prove a point or win a battle with a kangaroo, you just want to deescalate."

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