A NURSE was put in a headlock and booted in the stomach by a 6ft-tall kangaroo while trying to rescue his pet dogs.
Adrian Stock, 60, was on his cattle farm in when he spotted his three pooches take off after a lone male kangaroo.
When his trio of dogs – a ridgeback, bull arab and a tenterfield terrier – continued to chase the 14-stone roo, Adrian felt he had no choice but to follow.
The dad-of-three eventually caught up and as he closed in on the crazed quartet he instinctively started shouting and waving his arms.
But it did more damage than good as the kangaroo saw him as the bigger threat and unleashed a brutal attack.
The wild beast grabbed Adrian in a vice-like headlock while booting him in the stomach with his back legs.
Adrian, who has lived on the farm in from Ballina in New South Wales for 35 years, said: “I ran after them as kangaroos can easily gut a dog but I also don't love my animals attacking wildlife.
“I chased my dogs and I'm yelling at them and they've trapped this kangaroo in about three-feet of water.
“I sort of ballooned up and raised my arms and I'm yelling at the dogs and the kangaroo has seen me as the bigger threat.
“It turned on me and grabbed me by the head with its front claws and then kicked me in the belly with its back leg and knocked me to the ground in the water.
“The kangaroo was under a lot of stress and I wanted to get the dogs off him.”
Adrian said he borrowed a walking stick off a passerby which he flailed to calm the dogs “because they were in a frenzy”.
“Kangaroos are very tough animals and it took about five minutes to finally get the dogs off it and send them home,” he said.
“By this time the kangaroo is exhausted and I'm exhausted.”
Shocking photos show the animal lover's head dripping with blood following the attack, with a foot-long scar running across his belly.
Adrian visited his GP where he was given a tetanus shot and had stitches in his head.
Despite the attack happening in April 2018, Adrian said he's been left scarred for life and with a lingering wariness of kangaroos.
“I had a few cuts on my head on the scalp and above my ears and a big cut on my belly,” he said.
“It could have been a lot worse and it was more of a scratch than a skin tear but I've still got the scar down my belly. I've been left scarred for life from this.
“The cuts on my head were a couple of inches per claw and they were mainly scratches but their claws are really sharp. The scratch on my stomach was about 12 inches long.”
Adrian said the kangaroo that had attacked him was a “rogue” kangaroo, meaning this male had been kicked out of its mob likely due to conflict with another male.
The farmer said it isn't the first time he has been up close to a kangaroo but said he didn't expect the animal to turn on him.
“The kangaroo was taller than me and 6ft tall. He was quite muscular and jacked. They're huge and very strong,” Adrian added.
“I was more interested in saving the kangaroo from serious harm.
“In the heat of the moment I felt adrenaline first so I didn't feel any pain and didn't notice the blood coming down the side of my head.
“I could feel my stomach but I couldn't see it. When I became aware of it [my injuries], it was stinging and painful.
“I've been a bit wary aboutkangaroossince this [attack] as I didn't expect it to turn on me but I understand why it did as I became the biggest threat being bigger and louder than the dogs.”
