Roo rage on the rise, research reveals

SYDNEY - Kangaroos might be cute but they are certainly not cuddly.

New research shows more than triple the expected number of kangaroo attacks between South Grafton and Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast.

Prompted by two kangaroo attacks on children in Grafton in 1999 and 2002, Mr Ballard's research over the past two years has since been extended.

"We had thought there would be three to five attacks in the past two years but we've had 15 to 20 reports so far," said University of New England PhD student, Guy Ballard.

"We are going to expand our research to better understand the context of the attacks."

Although it is relatively uncommon for kangaroos to attack people, Ballard said they can become aggressive and will attack if provoked.

"Now that more urbanised people are coming into contact with kangaroos they are starting to learn the lessons that rural Australians have known for quite some time," he said.

Ballard said while an Eastern Grey kangaroo was about the same size as an average man and could inflict serious lacerations, they were naturally more fearful of dogs.

"It's about six feet (2m) tall with sharp claws and powerful hind legs. You wouldn't want to come up against that," he said.

"Because kangaroos were hunted by dingoes for thousands of years, they are naturally fearful of dogs," he said.

"There have been cases when the roo deliberately leads the dog to water so it can stand a chance of defending itself. It then holds the dog underwater and drowns it."

Ballard warned people to avoid a kangaroo attack by not coming between a male and a female with which it wants to mate, or a mother and its young.

- AAP