Toddler kicked by zoo kangaroo
Archer Dixon loved kangaroos – at least he did till one kicked him twice in the face.
Now even the ‘‘Space Kangaroo’’ in his Baby Einstein Let’s Look book has the Wellington 2-year-old crying ‘‘no’’.
Miramar resident Catherine Dixon took Archer and his twin brother Ethan to Wellington Zoo on Thursday. There, they went to the Australian ‘‘Meet The Neighbours’’ play area.
She let Archer – the ‘‘gentle’’ twin – pat the kangaroos gathered in the play area but held Ethan back because she thought that he may be too rough with them.
As Archer worked his way through the kangaroo mob, he accidentally stood on a tail. He stumbled toward another roo, which lashed out at him. ‘‘It grabbed him. He was facing the kangaroo and it kicked [twice].’’
Archer’s hands went up to protect his face. Fortunately, the claw scratched his left eyelid and below his eye but narrowly missed the eyeball itself.
His mum can’t quite remember what happened then – though video footage catches the audio of her screaming and Archer’s crying.
‘‘He just screamed – he kind of cowered down and tried to cover his face.’’
Zoo staff administered first aid and a doctor later prescribed eyedrops, she said. ‘‘Looking back at the video, it could have been so much worse. Other parents just need to be careful.’’
She had no ill-will towards the zoo, though thought some more signs warning about the play area’s roos would be helpful. Dixon said she was going public with the story so other parents would be more careful.
Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said the eastern grey kangaroos in the area were relatively young and, having come from a walk-through area in an Australian zoo, were used to people.
This was the first incident of its type since the Meet The Neighbours area opened about two years ago. ‘‘They are very relaxed and calm – not like wild kangaroos.’’
Zoo staff reacted well as soon as they heard about the incident, then later filed a health and safety
‘‘It grabbed him. He was facing the kangaroo and it kicked him [twice] in the face.’’
Mum Catherine Dixon
report – though no official notification would be made to a government department as it was not a containment issue.
The zoo would offer the Dixons a free entry pass so the family could return, Fifield said.
Dixon said her family still loved the zoo and would go back. ‘‘We will just avoid the kangaroos.’’