Kangaroos are more active at dawn and dusk (when visibility is typically poorer), and often cross busy roads in search of the best grazing land, contributing to why so many are hit by vehicles.
Kangaroos are getting into the most trouble on the roads, with 7,992 kangaroo collision AAMI claims in the recorded year between March 2018 and February 2019. Roos made up a whopping 83% of all animal collisions. Wallabies were next with 392 collisions.
If you come across a kangaroo, brake to avoid a collision – don't swerve. If you're in an accident prioritise safety, call 000 if needed, then contact your insurer. If you hit a kangaroo, contact a wildlife rescue organisation or the local police.
Collisions kangaroos and wallabies make up 90% of all animal road accidents in Australia.
Is hitting a kangaroo an 'at fault' accident? No, it is not considered an at fault accident.
If you have hit a kangaroo or any other animal, the first thing to do is pull over if it is safe to stop on the road. Once you have pulled over and ensured the safety of everybody in the car (call 000 for medical help), the next step is to check on the animal to confirm whether it's alive or needs any assistance.
New South Wales was close behind with 1,626, or around 26%, while the Northern Territory accounted for the least with just 12 incidents.
Kangaroos travel in large groups. Fast vehicles with headlights on will startle them, causing them to frantically hop in random directions. Kangaroos are most active at dusk and dawn, when they're hardest to see. It doesn't help that their fur colour camouflages them.
Roadkill is a familiar sight on most long drives in Australia – and just about anywhere in the world. Here it's often kangaroos and wombats coming to grief, sometimes koalas or cassowaries. In Europe, it's elk and deer.
In case a kangaroo inevitably jumps in front of your vehicle, it is best to just brake heavily instead of trying to swerve to avoid them. The best advice is to just slow down and try braking in a straight line. You should only try swerving once your vehicle has slowed down sufficiently.
A kangaroo would win a fight against a human being.
Do not be fooled by videos of humans successfully attacking a kangaroo. In the wild, a kangaroo will try to grasp their prey and then tear into it with the claws on its feet. This will inflict devastating wounds on a human being or even disembowel them.
In a battle royale for Most Powerful Animal, a red kangaroo might take the martial-arts belt, thanks to a bone-shattering kick that delivers 759 pounds of force. Evolution has nudged wild creatures to hone their blows, bites, and brute strength for survival.
Kangaroos are essentially the Southern Hemisphere's equivalent of a deer: they often come out at dusk, when road visibility is weaker, and have strong bodies that dart across roads at a quick speed. Kangaroos are usually in rural areas, meaning vehicles are likely driving at a higher speed limit.
Kangaroos face few natural predators, aside from humans and wild dogs called dingoes. Heat, drought, and hunger due to vanishing habitat are among the largest threats to kangaroos.
Four species of sharks account for the vast majority of fatal attacks on humans: the bull shark, tiger shark, oceanic whitetip shark and the great white shark.
Said to be one of the most dangerous animals in Australia, the Saltwater Crocodile is an aggressive and territorial animal, and is the largest reptile in the world in terms of their mass – known to reach over 1000kg!
The best thing to do is limit driving at dawn, dusk and at night in areas known to have kangaroos. This actually happens to be the cardinal rule. Because kangaroos are crepuscular, they are most active at dusk and dawn which is when a majority of kangaroo hits happen.
The kangaroos used gazes to communicate with the human instead of attempting to open the box themselves, a behaviour that is usually expected for domesticated animals.
Kangaroos thump their feet, hitting one on the ground ahead of the other, when they sense danger and take flight. Often nearby kangaroos will also take flight when they hear the sound.
If you do have an accident with a kangaroo please pull over safely. When you have checked everyone in the car is safe, put your hazard lights on, and give us a call. Even if the kangaroo appears okay and jumps away it will probably be injured and need assistance.
They can cause serious injury. Their sharp claws can make deep cuts, and their powerful kicks can cause severe bruising and internal injuries.