Warning: This article contains graphic images
An Australian cattle farmer has unveiled his gnarly injuries after being attacked by.. yep, you guessed it, a kangaroo.
The grisly incident happened on his land in Bungawalbin, New South Wales back in 2018 and, according to 60-year-old Adrian Stock, the 14-stone marsupial was initially provoked by his dogs - a Tenterfield Terrier, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Bull Arab.
A gallery of photos was recently shared on his wildlife tour Facebook page, showing Stock's bloodied head and bodily scarring from the violent encounter.
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"I had lived on the farm for 35 years and I had three dogs at the time. All of a sudden they took off up the paddock chasing this large rogue kangaroo," recalled the farmer.
"I ran after them as kangaroos can easily gut a dog but I also don't love my animals attacking wildlife."
When Stock eventually caught up with his pooches, who'd cornered the kangaroo in shallow water, he began shouting and waving his arms in the air to draw its attention.
He got way more than he bargained for, though, as this bouncing interloper immediately recognised him as its main threat.
"It turned on me and grabbed me by the head with its front claws and then kicked me in the belly with its back leg, and knocked me to the ground in the water," he continued.
"The kangaroo was under a lot of stress and I wanted to get the dogs off him. At the moment, a man drove past and I borrowed his walking stick and flailed it at the dogs to get them off because they were in a frenzy.
"Kangaroos are very tough animals and it took about five minutes to finally get the dogs off it and send them home."
According to the farmer, by this point he and and the kangaroo were both 'exhausted'.
Stock had suffered several cuts across his head and scalp, plus a long claw-slice on his stomach.
"I've been left scarred for life from this," he revealed. "The cuts on my head were a couple of inches per claw and they were mainly scratches but their claws are really sharp. The scratch on my stomach was about 12 inches long."
Stock was later given a tetanus jab and some head stitches by a local doctor.
"The kangaroo was taller than me and 6ft tall. He was quite muscular and jacked," he went on to comment.
"In the heat of the moment I felt adrenaline first, so I didn't feel any pain and didn't notice the blood coming down the side of my head.
"I could feel my stomach but I couldn't see it. When I became aware of it [my injuries], it was stinging and painful."
Meanwhile, he also admitted that since the conflict he's been 'wary' about kangaroos.
Dan Seddon