'Pet' kangaroo blamed for Australian man's death

A wild kangaroo is suspected of killing a 77-year-old man who was keeping it as a pet, Australian police said on Tuesday — reportedly the first fatal kangaroo attack in 86 years.

The man, who has not been identified, was found by a relative on Sunday afternoon with "serious injuries", at a property in the sparsely-populated southern town of Redmond in Western Australia, police said.

"It is believed the man had been attacked by the kangaroo earlier in the day," a state police spokesman said.

An ambulance crew raced to the scene, but the man died there itself.

"At the property there was a kangaroo that was preventing the ambulance crew from accessing the injured man," the police spokesman said.

Police said they had to shoot and kill the animal, as it "was posing an ongoing threat to emergency responders".

The kangaroo was believed to be a wild animal being kept by the man as a pet, police said.

Though the kangaroo species was not identified, the Great Southern region of Western Australia is home to the western grey.

• Did you know Queen Elizabeth II wrote a letter to Australia that is locked in vault and can't be opened for 63 years?