Imagine you’re a paraglider. You’re engaged in an activity which is more likely to lead to death than other activities. And you successfully stick the landing. You’re alive and home-free! Until this kangaroo hops over to try and murder you on the landing pad! What the-?!? Deadspin posted this video of a dude in Australia safely falling out of the sky only to be met with violent derision by an annoyed marsupial.
Here’s the lowdown:
“I had been Paragliding cross country for two hours near Canberra and had reached a position where I had to land. It is the last cleared valley where I could safely land, as over the next ridge there is only wilderness and trees. I decided to land on the concrete slab of the old Orroral Space Tracking Station. I was concentrating on the landing and didn’t notice the Kangaroo until after I landed. As it ran towards me I thought it was being friendly so I said ‘What’s Up, Skip?’ It then attacked me twice before hopping away. I packed up my paraglider and had to walk several kilometers to get phone reception and call a friend to come and collect me.”
“My name’s not Skip, asshole!” – the kangaroo.
It’s sort of heartening to see kangaroos taking back that stereotype of the “boxing kangaroo” , and finding agency in it by making it real but on their own terms.
Pic: YouTube