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Case Reports
. 2024 Jul 15:53:101078.
doi: 10.1016/j.tcr.2024.101078. eCollection 2024 Oct.

Hop, skip and a thump: Kangaroo inflicted trauma

Chloe Price  1 , Amyn Pardhan  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hop, skip and a thump: Kangaroo inflicted trauma

Chloe Price et al. Trauma Case Rep. .

Abstract

Although hospital presentations from kangaroo-related injuries commonly stem from motor vehicle collisions, a lesser-known subset involves assaults by kangaroos. In an Australian study over 10 years, only 40 attacks on humans were reported (Herbert et al., 2021). The rate of human injury from kangaroos has speculatively increased, attributed to changes in its natural habitat from fires and urbanisation (Hardy et al., 2021). We present the case of a 75-year-old gentleman who sustained multiple injuries, including a scrotal tear and hemopneumothorax, from a kangaroo-related assault. This case highlights the diverse nature of kangaroo-related injuries and underscores the need for public safety campaigns and comprehensive reporting mechanisms to capture injury rates from incidents involving kangaroos, especially in the setting of climate change-altering environments and increasing human-wildlife contact.

Keywords: Animal attack; Climate change; Kangaroo; Trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

We hereby declare that there are no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, associated with the funding or intellectual property of this article. The research, analysis, and conclusions presented are entirely the work of the authors. Additionally, while AI, specifically ChatGPT, was utilized as an editing tool to enhance the readability and clarity of the manuscript, all intellectual contributions, conceptual frameworks, and critical analyses remain the original work of the authors. The use of AI was limited strictly to editorial assistance and did not influence the substantive content or integrity of the research.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Kangaroo attack with small left haemopneumothorax. Coronal (A & B) CT chest post contrast in a 75-year-old male following kangaroo attack. A) The (arrow) demonstrates the haemothorax on the left. B) The (arrow) demonstrates the subcutaneous emphysema on the left.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Image 1: Image of anterior chest showing multiple abrasions from Kangaroo scratches. Image 2: Deep medial thigh wound.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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