The brother of a South Carolina petting zoo proprietor was apparently crushed to demise by a kangaroo after probably going into the Aussie animal’s pen to “roughhouse” with it, authorities mentioned.
Eric Slate’s physique was found inside the power simply earlier than midnight on Friday evening at 5-Star Farm close to Loris — about 30 miles north of Myrtle Seaside, the Horry County Coroner’s Workplace mentioned.
Slate, 52, had a “history” of moving into the kangaroo enclosure and “roughhousing” with it, which is what was taking place on the time of his demise, native council member Mark Causey instructed News13.
“It just went south,” he mentioned.
The kangaroo was nonetheless in its enclosure on the family-owned farm when Slate’s physique was discovered.
The farm just lately posted an image of a big pink kangaroo named Mr. Jack, including, “He loves neck scratches and will take treats from your hands.”
It’s not clear which animal killed Slate, however he was discovered with “multiple blunt force injuries.”
Grownup male pink kangaroos can weigh practically 200 lbs. and develop as much as 5-foot-11 tall, with highly effective ft for kicking. In 2022, an aged man was killed by his pet kangaroo in Western Australia, however that was believed to be the firs time a roo killed an individual in practically 90 years within the nation.
5-Star Farm provides an interactive petting zoo with unique animals, together with camels, wallabies and kangaroos, proprietor Robert Slate wrote in a Fb submit.
“Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers,” he mentioned.
The kangaroo just isn’t aggressive and has not been euthanized, Causey added.
“It’s not an aggressive animal. It’s very sad… It was not the animal’s fault,” he mentioned.
Specialists are coming on this week to make sure the enclosure is protected and the animal is OK, he mentioned.
South Carolina has a few of the loosest restrictions within the US on the possession of unique animals.
It’s one among solely three states the place kangaroo possession isn’t prohibited.
