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Man Strangles Neighbor’s Kangaroo To Death And Younger Kangaroos Surround Its Lifeless Body

WYTALIBA, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 14: A kangaroo joey who is under the care of Wytaliba residents and wildlife carers Julie Willis and Gary Wilson is pictured on January 14, 2020 in Wytaliba, Australia. The couple, who haven't had a holiday for 23 years because of the workload of caring for injured wildlife are now looking after about 50-60 kangaroos. On the afternoon of November 8, 2019, firestorms ripped through the small communities of Wytaliba and Torrington, leaving two dead and scores of homes destroyed. In Wytaliba the devastation was almost complete, making it ground zero for the bushfire crisis that since has gripped NSW and Victoria. Local resident Vivian Chaplain died while trying to save her home and George Nole died in his car trying to escape the inferno. For Wytaliba residents, only a few community buildings remain, while those that have returned are living in tents or temporary shelters without power or running water. The local primary school, burnt in the fire, is being rebuilt and is due to take students for the new school year in late January. Built on a former cattle ranch in the late 1970's, Wytaliba was a place for people who seek peace and solitude outside of the mainstream. This usually private community open their doors to show the immense challenges they now face in rebuilding. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Jack Kerley Contributor
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A family is mourning the death of their Kangaroo after their neighbor allegedly killed the animal Dec. 22 in Sumner County, Tennessee.

The Sumner County Sheriffs Department responded to an incident around 5pm Wednesday after reports came in that two people were fighting with a kangaroo, WHNT News 19 reported.

The owners of the kangaroo, Hope and Chris Lea, were contacted by their neighbors who informed them that Carter, the 5-foot, 60-pound kangaroo, had escaped his regular enclosure, WHNT News 19 reported. (RELATED: Baby Kangaroo Stolen From Farm)

“They made it sound like they were out in their property, but that wasn’t the case,” Lea told News 4 Nashville. “They never left our property.”

Lea later got another call a few minutes later. “He says, I’m strangling the kangaroo now. He grabbed my wife. I’m going to kill him. He’s dangerous. Y’all need to keep your m-f*cking animals contained,” Lea recounted to News 4 Nashville. “They were still in my perimeter fence on my property.”

“It’s a lot of unknown answered questions that will probably never be answered, to be honest with you.” said Lea, “We love these animals like they’re our kids. He didn’t deserve to be choked and strangled to death.”

When Lea and his wife returned to their property, they found Carter’s lifeless body surrounded by the joeys, according to WHNT News 19.

“I was screaming because all of the babies were standing around his dead body and I was just so upset,” said Lea, according to WHNT News 19.

“He didn’t have nowhere to go,” Lea said. “He was choked to death in his own space.”

Chris and Hope Lea have reportedly said they will be looking for some kind of compensation for Carter’s “unnecessary” death.

An infographic from New South Wales in Australia called “Living With Kangaroos” states that kangaroos “may push or grapple with its forepaws or sit back and kick out with its hind legs.” Attacks may occur when “kangaroos have lost their instinctive fear of humans” or “a kangaroo sees a person as a sparring partner” among others, according to the infographic. (RELATED: Police Capture Runaway Kangaroo In Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

Kangaroos are a protected species and are mostly used for meat, pelts and hunting purposes with the appropriate licensing, despite protests from American animal rights activists.