Professional Martial Artist Faces Off With Kangaroo To Save His Beloved Dog

Australian mixed martial arts professional Mick Moloney put his skills in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the test when trying to save his dog from an unexpected threat.

Moloney was on a riverbank in Mildura, Australia with his dogs when he noticed one of them, Hatchi, was missing. After scanning the riverbank, he encountered a giant kangaroo holding Hatchi in a headlock — so Moloney decided to fight back.

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A viral TikTok video posted to the Mildura Martial Arts channel showed Moloney’s encounter with the “jacked” kangaroo. In the video, Hatchi struggled to breathe as the massive kangaroo's front legs were wrapped around the dog’s neck. The kangaroo then looked straight at Moloney.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Moloney said he tried to scare the kangaroo away by making loud noises, but the roo continued to hold a grip on the dog.

“The muscles on this thing, I was like, ‘this thing’s just got out of jail” or something. It was jacked,” Moloney told ABC. In the TikTok video, Moloney walked right up to the kangaroo and said, “Let go of my dog.” He reportedly took a swing at the animal. The roo dropped the dog and lunged at Moloney. At that point, Moloney dropped his phone into the water.

Moloney told ABC he and the kangaroo had “a bit of a tussle in the water,” and the animal looked about to kick their legs out at him. “I splashed some water in its face and tried to take off, and it had another go at me as I was leaving,” he said.

Moloney retrieved his phone from the water and filmed the giant kangaroo standing in the water continuing to stare at him as he and Hatchi returned to the riverbank. “I got my dog back, that’s the main thing,” he told ABC.

Moloney admits that Hatchi likely cornered the kangaroo, and the marsupial may have protected themself by dragging the dog into the water. Surprisingly, this is a common thing for kangaroos to do to protect themselves.

According to the The Conversation, domestic dogs and dingos are primary predators of the kangaroo. When European colonists first arrived in Australia, kangaroos often drowned their hunting dogs.

“Kangaroos will also seek refuge in streams and dams, standing in the water while the dogs pace the shore,” per the The Conversation. “A large male kangaroo has the height and upper-body strength to kill any dog that enters the water.”

In 2004, NBC News reported that a kangaroo drowned one of four dogs who two women were walking with by a pond. The kangaroo held the one dog underwater with their hind legs while fighting the others with their front legs. “My friend started shouting, “There’s a kangaroo in the pond. It’s got Summer,’” one of the women told the Canberra Times newspaper, according to NBC News. “She was screaming and screaming. The kangaroo just stared back at us.”

These instances of kangaroos attacking dogs do seem rare, but still, any time you and your dog are out and about in an area where you may encounter a wild kangaroo, make sure to keep your dog on a leash, and to remain cautious.