Man, knocked unconscious by Australian kangaroo while jogging, says he would not throw return punch if given the opportunity-attack comes one year after kangaroo crashes through window and rampages Canberra home in separate incident.
25-year-old jogger David Striegl was knocked unconscious by a kangaroo punch on the Mount Ainslie nature reserve, in Australian capital Canberra. The jogger received cuts and bruises and a black eye, after being scratched and hit by the attacking kangaroo. Mount Ainslie is located near the center of the Australian capital, with the country's Parliament Houses designed to be viewed from the top of the mountain.
Striegl, whom had been jogging up the mountain during his lunch break, doesn't remember much-only that he turned around and saw the kangaroo that then attacked and hit him in the face. He says the kangaroo scratched him first, then assumes that the wild animal must have hit him, causing the jogger to lose total consciousness. The man was taken to a nearby hospital by a passing motorist.
Injuries from kangaroos in Australia are rare, virtually unheard of for a person to be knocked out by one of the wild animals. This kangaroo attack comes one year after a separate kangaroo incident, where one of the animals crashed through the window of a house in Canberra, before rampaging through the home. Joggers and cyclists are common on the Australian mountain. Striegl, a former Australian rules footballer, says he had never been in a fight before being hit by the kangaroo-if the incident can be called a 'fight'; the footballer says he'd witnessed kangaroos box each other before, but didn't know they would box people. He said he would not have thrown a return punch, even if provided the chance, because kangaroos serve as Australia's national symbol, and has no hard feelings against kangaroos-even after being knocked out by one. Striegl says he will continue jogging at the reserve, but with company next time-though it's hard to anticipate what the man believes how that 'company' may be able to assist in any future kangaroo attack.
Hard to say what's stranger-a jogger being knocked out by a kangaroo, or the fact that the jogger would actually comment on reasons for not punching a kangaroo, if provided the opportunity.