Video: Man Punches Kangaroo to Save Dog From Headlock

You talkin’ to me?

By now, you’ve probably seen the viral video of a man punching a kangaroo in the face.

The footage of Greig Tonkins fighting off the massive ‘Roo that was attacking his hunting dog Max has been viewed over 26 million times.

There’s a sad story behind the scary encounter, as news.com.au explains:

“This hunting trip was put together for a sick young man called Kailem who passed away from cancer last week,” said Mathew Amor, who organized the hunting trip in June when the incident occurred.

Mr Amor told news.com.au he decided to organise a small group of friends, including Kailem and Greig Tonkins, to go on the boar hunting trip at his property in Condobolin, New South Wales, after hearing about Kailem’s deteriorating condition.

“Basically Kailem wanted to catch a boar,” Mr Amor said.

“And so a few of us got together to take him out, and another mate filmed more than an hour of video to put together as a DVD for Kailem and his family of the trip.”

Amor said his late friend would be loving all the attention his trip was receiving:

“Kailem would be looking down from up there [heaven] and laughing because it was the highlight of the trip,” Mr Amor said.

Tonkins is a zookeeper at Taronga’s Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. He and the kangaroo are both doing fine since their tussle.

But Tonkins was very fortunate – while kangaroos are often portrayed as gentle animals, they can be quite dangerous.

The marsupials are often depicted as boxers, but they don’t usually throw punches – they prefer to balance on their strong tails and kick with their powerful back legs.

The guy’s very lucky because he could have been killed. If the kangaroo had done that to the guy it could have disemboweled him.

Kangaroos also employ another horrifying technique during fights: they often try to claw their opponents’ eyes out.

They are a protected species in Australia, and have been known to kill dogs and hurt humans, but these incidents are not common.

Should you find yourself face-to-face with a kangaroo, the Office of Environment and Heritage recommends that you avoid attracting its attention. Keep your head and arms low:

Wait until the kangaroo has moved away before continuing on your way. If you need to, carefully retreat in a crouched or crawling position to a safe location or distance away. If you can, position an object such as a tree or fence between you and the kangaroo and call for help. Alert your helper to the potential danger.

If you are attacked, drop to the ground and curl into a ball with your hands protecting your face and throat. Try to remain calm and still until the animal moves away, or if you can, keep low to the ground and move behind some form of cover.

This video features Roger, the “delinquent son” of Brolga, owner of The Kangaroo Sanctuary. Brolga and Roger star on the National Geographic show Kangaroo Dundee:

For male kangaroos, the greatest threat comes from within their own society. There is only one lesson to learn: he must become a fighter.

This roided-out Roo really wants to enter this poor family’s home…

Posted on YouTube by bicyclist Ben Vezina, this video shows dozens of kangaroos standing around and staring at him in Hawkstowe Park, near Melbourne.

By the way, a group of kangaroos is called a “mob.”

Do you even lift, bro? This kangaroo should enter bodybuilding competitions.

Hey, sir…watch your back…oops.