Joshua Hayden of WA had his jaw "shattered" by a kangaroo while he was out hunting the animals for food on Tuesday night, the ABC reports. And the 19-year-old thinks kangaroos are getting meaner.Hayden and his brother, who say they regularly hunt kangaroos for food, came across three of them while out hunting in a paddock near Kellerberrin, 202km east of Perth. One of the kangaroos vanished out of sight, he told the ABC, so he took aim at the remaining two.That's when the third member of the trio reappeared, slamming up against his car and smashing both the front window and Hayden. "Then it bounced back onto me and headbutted me straight in the jaw," said Hayden, who blacked out for 30 seconds."I woke up and my brother was trying to tell me what happened … Out of all the times we have been out bush I have never heard of this before."Kangaroo attacks are rare, but do happen. Last year, Melbourne personal trainer Debbie Urquart was out jogging when a 2m-high male kangaroo jumped out at her seemingly out of nowhere, after which she needed extensive surgery.
Those in the know say if you do come face-to-face with one you should get down, then get away: "You need to crouch down low and back away, get away, and get a bush or a tree between you and the kangaroo," Wildlife expert Ian Temby told The Age. "It's not going to chase you far.""If you're standing up," he added, "the kangaroo can kick you with its hind feet and that can pretty much rip you open."
Hayden is waiting for the swelling to go down, after which he will have jaw surgery.