A kangaroo recently attacked a two-year-old Maltese-Australian boy while the boy was playing at his parents’ home in Lake Cathie, a town in New South Wales, just 12 kilometres south of Port Macquarie.

In an interview with Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, Zakkiah Galea’s mother Nicole, who is eight months pregnant, said: “The kangaroo was on top of him. He was pinned to the ground while it clawed at his forearms. I screamed at the kangaroo to get off him but it wouldn’t – it just kept on attacking.”

The boy’s father Andrew finally fought the kangaroo off the boy before it turned on him and then fled into bushland, reported the newspaper. Mrs Galea said young Zakkiah had to have 13 stitches. There was a deep puncture in Zakkiah’s chest, a gash on the top of his leg, and two large gouges from his mouth to his ear.

“He’s OK, just very anxious and nervous. He’s scared. He says he doesn’t want to be attacked by the ‘tiger kangaroo’,” said Mrs Galea.

Mr and Mrs Galea are said to have relatives in Gozo.

The Daily Telegraph quoted National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager Peter Clark as saying that people should be aware that ’roos were wild animals of substantial size and power and may react instinctively and attack if startled.