# Kangaroos are vicious **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705 "2011-02-08T22:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/21 "2011-02-09T02:58:33Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Holy crap! Those arms are about fifty timers more powerful than I expected. Yeah, they are impresssive, And surprising for most people who have only ever seen them from a distance. The bottom heavy shape and huge hind legs gives the impression that they are built like a Tyrannosaur, with tiny useless forelimbs. In fact they have large powerful forelimbs that only appear small compared to the humungous, powerful hindlimbs. > [@](#): > > And these are the shy herbivores?? Much like deer. And just like deer they prefer to run if chased. And just like deer, if you are stupid enough to force one to fight, it will kick the shit out of you in about 10 seconds flat. Peaceful herbivore =/= helpless victim. Peaceful herbivore =/= cuddly toy that I can grab and take a photograph with. Peaceful herbivore = prey animal that has evolved ways of dealing with annoying predators. Peaceful herbivore = harem animal where the 80kg males fight with each other for weeks on end. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/22 "2011-02-09T03:41:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Peaceful herbivore =/= cuddly toy that I can grab and take a photograph with. That’s a mistake that a few tourists a year come to regret, around here. Most folks have enough sense not to try to get all cozy with the bears or wolves, but for some reason bison, elk, and bighorns make people stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/23 "2011-02-09T05:03:44Z")
I can recall a warning given here in Canberra a few years ago. Drought was bringing roos deeper into suburbia looking for eats, people were advised not to confront them. Though most of the time they just look at you, and amble off if you get too close. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/24 "2011-02-09T05:14:14Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Holy crap! Those arms are about fifty timers more powerful than I expected. And these are the shy herbivores?? Yeah, they’re pretty intense. They didn’t look nearly this intimidating in the Hundred Acre Forest. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/25 "2011-02-09T05:31:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s a mistake that a few tourists a year come to regret, around here. Most folks have enough sense not to try to get all cozy with the bears or wolves, but for some reason bison, elk, and bighorns make people stupid. Much the same as koalas, freaken claws will rip you to shreds and don’t forget platypus with their poison spikes. C’mon down under with out cute and cuddly animals. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/26 "2011-02-09T07:38:49Z")
I spent 1997/98 in Australia. Somewhere between Melbourne and Adelaide the minibus driver stopped to show us some penned-up red kangaroos. He was perched on a fence but got too close to one and it used its arms to paw at his knees (I suspect to pull him into the pen). His shins were somewhat shredded after that. As an Australian trying to point out the dangers of kangaroos to dumb backpackers it left him fairly sheepish. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/27 "2011-02-09T08:16:45Z")
> [@Crusoe](#): > > He was perched on a fence but got too close to one and it used its arms to paw at his knees (I suspect to pull him into the pen). Wassat? Predatory, carnivorous kangaroos? :eek: Bloody unlikely. A far better bet was that the roo thought the guide had some grain/pellets and was begging to be fed. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/28 "2011-02-09T09:49:49Z")
he’s got huge sharp…he can leap about…Look at the BONES!!! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/29 "2011-02-09T13:13:00Z")
Run away!!! Run away!!! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/30 "2011-02-09T13:34:48Z")
Here’s [a weak attempt by a roo at drowning a victim.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKf6d0SDv7k) Here’s a roo [using his forearms to grapple with a victim.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IHYIYBT7wo=) Thankfully the hind legs aren’t employed in this assault. Here’s [an attack that put the victim in the hospital.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B66gFbN3sg) Roo supports itself on its stout tail, grasps victim with forelegs for balance, and then kicks with its rear legs. Front legs scratched up the vic’s face a bit, but the major damage was to his groin, where he required a lot of stitches. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/31 "2011-02-09T16:06:10Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > What does a kangaroo ever need to lift or carry? You won’t find many photos of a buffalo or an eagle or a wolf lifting or grabbing something heavy with its forelimbs either. Well, I don’t know if an eagle can rightly be said to have forelimbs, but yeah, they [carry heavy objects often.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQE7C1CPWM&NR=1) Fish, sheep, lamb, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/32 "2011-02-10T01:25:04Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, I don’t know if an eagle can rightly be said to have forelimbs, but yeah, they [carry heavy objects often.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQE7C1CPWM&NR=1) Fish, sheep, lamb, and so on. Can you provide some evidence for this claim? Like a picture of an eagle lifting a sheep with its wings for example. Because my BS meter is going off. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/33 "2011-02-10T01:40:23Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Much the same as koalas, freaken claws will rip you to shreds and don’t forget platypus with their poison spikes. > > C’mon down under with out cute and cuddly animals. Yeah, that seems to be the rule: No matter how cute or ugly the critter is, if it’s from Australia, it’s capable of killing you without working up a sweat. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/34 "2011-02-10T02:00:35Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, I don’t know if an eagle can rightly be said to have forelimbs, but yeah, they [carry heavy objects often.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQE7C1CPWM&NR=1) Fish, sheep, lamb, and so on. That eagle did not actually lift the sheep, that is, raise it in the air. The most it seems to have done is to have slowed and controlled its fall under gravity. In general, birds of prey can’t lift more than about half their own weight. They can, however, sometimes kill prey that weighs more than they do. ---
**Author:** ![AshenLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@AshenLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AshenLady)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/35 "2011-02-10T02:12:09Z")
I can hardly believe a sheep being taken by an Eagle. Amazing and scary. We have a 15 pound dog and we look out for red tailed hawks that fly by. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/36 "2011-02-10T02:14:22Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, I don’t know if an eagle can rightly be said to have forelimbs, but yeah, they [carry heavy objects often.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQE7C1CPWM&NR=1) Fish, sheep, lamb, and so on. That sure looks like a clip from a fantasy movie, not a nature documentary. What is the source? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/37 "2011-02-10T02:32:41Z")
> [@AshenLady](#): > > I can hardly believe a sheep being taken by an Eagle. Amazing and scary. We have a 15 pound dog and we look out for red tailed hawks that fly by. We have records of Harpy Eagles taking young deer. They have to dismember them, though, so they can carry parts off. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/38 "2011-02-10T20:21:14Z")
Saw a live bald eagle at the sanctuary near here [http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/](http://www.worldbirdsanctuary.org/). Full grown, 6’ wingspan and weighs 11 lbs. That seems shockingly light for something that big, but that’s using my ground mammal intuition; birds are built much more lightly than ground critters. At any rate, taking the info from our resident ornithologist above that birds of prey can lift half their weight, and with this bird weighing in at 11 lbs, we conclude that the max carry weight for a full grown bald eagle is in the ballpark of 5 lbs. Maaaybe 7, but not 10 and certainly not 20. Sure they might be able to kill something much bigger, but IMO stories of them flying off with a schnauzer, a sheep, or a toddler are just that: stories. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/39 "2011-02-10T20:53:46Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Front legs scratched up the vic’s face a bit, but the major damage was to his groin, where he required a lot of stitches. Why do they always go for the groin? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705/40 "2011-02-10T21:06:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That eagle did not actually lift the sheep, that is, raise it in the air. The most it seems to have done is to have slowed and controlled its fall under gravity. > > In general, birds of prey can’t lift more than about half their own weight. They can, however, sometimes kill prey that weighs more than they do. I think we’re quibbling at this point. We’re talking (tangentially) about whether an eagle has any use for buffed forelimbs. I’m pretty sure that hanging on to a mountain goat(?) while gliding pretty much counts. And if you look at the video, that eagle is gliding for a significant distance. So I’m pretty sure the limiting factor is not the forelimbs/talons, but rather the wings capacity. Pretty sure the video is real as there are several other similar videos on Youtube of eagles grabbing onto a goat (or sheep) and yanking it off a cliff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroos-are-vicious/570705.md?page=3)