GREEN CAMP, Ohio, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- An 80-year-old man suffered injuries in an attack by a kangaroo he was feeding at an exotic animal farm in Ohio, officials said.
John Kokas was kicked and knocked to the ground by the 3-year-old kangaroo Tuesday morning at Kokas Exotic Animals Farm near Green Camp, which he started in 1978, WSYX-TV, Columbus, reported.
Kokas, who was flown to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where he was listed in stable condition Wednesday. He had cuts and bruises on his face and upper body, WSYX reported.
The male kangaroo, standing 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds, had never attacked before Tuesday, employees at the animal farm said.
The kangaroo is to be euthanized.
Kokas reportedly had raised the kangaroo since it was about 6 months old.
The animal farm's Facebook page said it sells baby skunks, groundhogs, foxes and other animals and mentions the kangaroo, the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal reported.
Adele Dodge, a kangaroo expert at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, said kangaroos, like deer, will typically run away instead of attacking.
"They can attack you, but usually will not," Dodge said.
