Man Who Assaulted Kangaroo Is Leaving Many People Divided On His Motives
When Greig Tonkins left for a hunting excursion with a bunch of friends, he had no idea he'd end up on the front page of the news. Then again, he never expected to have a run-in with a group of aggressive kangaroos, either. But somehow, he found himself squaring up with nature's best boxers — and some dire consequences he never expected.
Outdoorsman Through And Through
To say Greig Tonkins loved the outdoors was a massive understatement. He was an outdoorsman through and through, and few joys in life matched taking his hunting dog out for some fresh air. He made a habit out of that — and it got him into trouble.
A Love Of All Animals
Tonkins frequently took legal hunting trips through the Australian bush with his crew members and each one of their dogs. Even though Tonkins worked closely with hunting dogs, his career proved he loved animals from every walk of life.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo
He worked as an elephant keeper at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Australia. One afternoon, he cut his day of work short to take a special hunting excursion to benefit a close friend.
One Last Trip
Sadly, his buddy Kailem Barwick was suffering from terminal cancer, and he wanted to take potentially one last trip with the boys in case he wasn't around for the next one. The team happily agreed.
Everyone All Smiles
Everyone attending the trip was close to Barwick, and even though an air of sadness hung over the outing, everyone was all smiles as they set out to hunt boars.
A Different Animal
Wild boars were an invasive — and extremely aggressive — species throughout Australia. They were legal to hunt due to the problems they caused, but not long into the team's journey, the crew stumbled into a different animal — one a little more respected than wild boars.
Hell Breaks Loose
It was a large male kangaroo, and he seemed startled by the men's presence in the bush. Tonkins' dog immediately sensed danger, and he, along with another canine, approached the marsupial. That's when all hell broke loose.
A Dangerous Realization
Tonkins' pooch charged the kangaroo aggressively and backed it into a small pool of water. However, the scuffle moved back onto land in the flurry of splashes, and Tonkins instantly realized the danger his dog was in.
Jumping Into Action
Somehow the kangaroo placed the dog in a chokehold! Without pausing to think, Tonkins, completely disregarding his own safety, ran to save his dog's life.
Man Versus Animal
As Tonkins approached, the kangaroo sensed the looming physical altercation and released the dog. Tonkins was driven to protect his friend and squared up with the 'roo. One of the team member's caught the incredible bout on camera.
A Winning Punch
Tonkins and the marsupial danced around each other with fists held high. Suddenly, Tonkins threw a right hook and connected with the animal's face! The kangaroo, clearly in shock by the punch, stumbled back and ran away in defeat.
A Difference Of Opinions
Tonkin's friends watched in awe as he returned to the jeep feeling like a wrestling champion. He was proud. He saved his dog. No one was severely injured. But then the video ended up online, and Tonkins entered a second fight.
The Internet Responds
Animal-loving people at PETA were outraged. The kangaroo had already let the dog go — why did Tonkins still square up for a punch? Other critics online voiced their anger, and Tonkins was deeply affected by outpouring of rage.
Zoo Workers' Support
Naturally, Tonkins kept a low-profile while the anger blossomed. Thankfully, fellow zoo workers were on his side about the courageous and — according to National Geographic explorer Marco Festa-Bianchet — extremely precarious situation. He knew kangaroos are no joke.
"He Could Have Been Killed"
"The guy's very lucky because he could have been killed," said the explorer. Even though movies and cartoons might portray kangaroos as friendly, when they feel threatened, they attack in a deadly fashion. Just their legs pack a punch.
Lucky To Be Alive
The back legs of kangaroos are figuratively spring-loaded with brute force, and their claws are razor sharp. Tonkins is lucky he didn't take a kick to the body. "If the kangaroo had done that to the guy," Festa-Bianchet said "it could have disemboweled him."
"I Love Them"
Fortunately, Tonkins made it out unscathed, and even though he did assault the animal, he wanted people to know he had no ill feelings towards the species. "They love me... and I love them," he said in a social media post.
"Look At The Pics"
"Everyone knows how much I love them," Tonkins said. "That's the funny thing about the haters, I've raised more joeys than them. Everyone who knows me knows what I've always been like with animals even though I hunt. Look at the pics, they don't lie."
Barwick's Last Trip
Beyond the negative press, an even darker shadow hung over the trip: It was, in fact, Kailem Barwick's last one. He passed away from cancer several months later. The friends had a lot to digest.
Never Forget
Tonkins resumed his role as an elephant keeper at the zoo, but he'll never forget his brave actions during the special trip for his friend. Whenever critics confront him, he simply points to any other instance humans fought animals to protect loved ones.
Life in New Hampshire
Like Greig Tonkins, the O'Reillys spent far more time outside their house than in. Ian and Alison passed on their passion for the great outdoors to their kids before they could even walk, but the parents never expected to place their children in danger.
Culprits
See, around the O'Reilly's home in Exeter, police were trying to track down an animal culprit harassing locals. One 62-year-old woman and her frightened dogs had to flee when a predator chased them out of the woods.
Coyotes on the Loose
Another resident got a much better look at the beast. He was just driving down the road when a wild coyote attempted to attack him through his car! The glass and steel protected him, though it didn't make sense why the animal was so aggressive.
Wildlife
Alison and Ian heard these reports but didn't worry about them too much. After all, New Hampshire was a big place full of wildlife. They wouldn't let a couple scares ruin their plans for a wintry hike in 2020.
The Perfect Hike
The five O'Reillys were retracing a trek they'd completed just a few weeks prior. It took just about two and a half hours, the perfect amount of time to stretch their legs without tiring the kids out. What could go wrong?
Stalking
The second journey began much like the first. Everyone took in the picturesque views and shared jokes and stories. They were having such a fun time that nobody noticed a stranger was stalking them.
Making an Entrance
Against all odds, the coyote found them in the New England wilderness. The O'Reillys didn't see the feral canine at first, until it announced its presence in the most horrifying way imaginable.
Pounced
It pounced on their preschool-aged son! Alison yanked him out from under the creature, not yet realizing the threat they were facing. Instead, the couple was "thinking it was a dog off leash who just bumped into [their] son."
Living On A Prey-er
Then the truth clicked in Ian's mind: this was no dog. This was a bloodthirsty predator, and they were the prey. Not knowing what else to do, the dad stepped between the coyote and his family. He was terrified of what would happen next.
Kicks
Ian's top priority was getting his wife and kids to safety. He yelled at them to run as fast as they could. Turning back toward the coyote, Ian lifted his heavy hiking boot and kicked its ribs with all his might.
Fighting Back
That only made the rabid canine even angrier. It knocked Ian to the ground, toppling him just as easily as it did his young child, and bit at his chest. Fans tore right through the hiker's winter jacket and punctured his skin.
Lessons Learned
Ian managed to spot his family vanishing in the distance, and he shouted for them to keep moving. At that moment, his terror gave way to anger. What business did this animal have for attacking his family? Ian was going to teach it a lesson.
Interestings: Living, etc.
A talented endurance athlete, Ian clamped his hands around the canine's snout and squeezed its body between its legs. That completely shut off any airflow in the predator's windpipe. "That coyote was very much interested in living, but so were we," he later reflected.
Next Steps
Ian didn't let the coyote go, as it could easily sprint off and go after his kids. Exhausted, he kept up the pressure until the animal stopped breathing. He realized he'd killed the beast out of pure instinct, "like it was almost like a logical next step"
Bites
Of course, Ian was much worse for the wear. Every muscle in his body shook with fatigue, and he was bleeding all over from claw and bite marks. The father limped back to his family, and Alison whisked him off to the hospital.
Getting Through It
The O'Reillys have been surprisingly well-adjusted since the harrowing attack. Alison's work as a PTSD trauma expert helped them all, though their youngest had trouble sleeping in his own bed afterwards. And this wasn't the O'Reilly's only brush with danger.
Backyard Struggles
As much as they traveled, the O'Reilly family had their first brush with the uglier side of nature in their own backyard. Ian was startled when he heard his son utter a cry of delight — followed by a scream.
Rabid Raccoons
It turned out a raccoon — and a rabid one at that — was living under their porch. The vicious creature bit the O'Reilly boy on his knee. As Alison pulled him away from the raccoon, a scab on her hand was exposed to his wound.
Rabies Shots
Both mother and son needed rabies vaccinations afterward but made immediate recoveries. In a sense, Ian counted himself lucky. As unfortunate as the raccoon attack was, the family is hopefully predator-free for the foreseeable future. But Ian is still traumatized.
Bushwhackers
The rustle of a bush still makes Ian's heart beat faster, but he doesn't let that fear keep him from his outdoor adventures. He can at least take comfort in knowing he defended his family. However, a debate regarding natural predators is splitting wildlife enthusiasts all over the country.
If you were hiking through a remote part of California a few years ago, you might have been warned about grizzly bears. But the chances of coming face to face with any other potentially dangerous animals, especially wolves, wasn't very likely...
In fact, coming across an actual wolf sounds fairly far fetched to a regular tourist or hiker. In the early 1920s, though, this was a different story. Back then, wolves prowled California’s remote forests and farms alike, which posed a dangerous problem.
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Because of this, farmers and wolves were constantly at odds. Farmers often hunted wolves in hopes of avoiding a barnyard massacre. They couldn’t have known then the damage they were inflicting, and not just on the wolves.
In 1924, the very last gray wolf was killed. For the next 90 years, California didn’t have any wolves in an area that could support up to 500 of them. Unbeknownst to farmers, the species' absence shifted the balance of the ecosystems they used to inhabit.
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“Wolves keep [elk and deer] in check, which helps vegetation not get overeaten. That vegetation provides nesting habitat for migrating birds and building material for beavers, which create ponds for frogs and fish,” said biologist Amaroq Weiss. And this domino effect was not only noticed by biologists.
See, if something good came out of the mass wolf killings in the ‘20s, it’s that the negative effects alerted researchers nationwide to the dwindling population of gray wolves. So in 1975, the gray wolf received federal endangered species protections...but there weren’t any wolves left to protect.
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That is, until 2011, when one lone gray wolf wandered into Siskiyou County from Oregon. Biologists were stunned by this sudden re-emergence. Without a pack to lead or to protect him, this endangered wolf had traveled into an entirely new state — and immediately became an icon.
Though biologists designated him OR-7, activists named him “Journey” in honor of his daring cross-state trek. A GPS collar tracked and recorded his personal hike...as well as his encounters with other animals.
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According to his GPS collar, Journey found a mate — likely another migrated wolf — and added five pups to the state’s gray wolf population. He then migrated back to Oregon and fathered more pups. It seemed like those were the last wild wolf pups California would ever see.
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It was believed that, as of 2015, the population of wild gray wolves in California was an alarmingly small seven. Since two of the seven wolves were wearing GPS collars, biologists thought that enough of the state’s wolves were being tracked...
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So imagine biologists’ shock when, in 2019, two adult wolves were seen caring for three young pups in California. Biologists had no idea these wolves were even there, let alone that they were having pups. Even more unexpected was the way biologists discovered the pack.
The pack was seen hunting and resting on a trail camera in a remote part of Lassen County. The three pups snacked on grass and howled at each other before passing through. Though it only lasts a minute, this footage created a huge stir in the environmental community.
“Having wolves return to California is one of the most significant environmental developments in conservation in this state,” Weiss asserted. This sounds like triumphant news for conservationists and activists everywhere, but some people are far from happy about the wolves’ return.
Farmers and hunters have always tried to subdue the wolf population in California in order to protect their valuable sheep and cattle, and this didn’t change when California’s Fish and Game Commission granted gray wolves special protection under the state’s Endangered Species Act in 2014.
Now that the population seems to be slowly ratcheting upwards, farmers are once again in fear of their livestock being hunted. When California’s Farm Bureau Federation took the matter to court, the fate of the wolves was put into jeopardy.
Farmers weren’t the only group threatening California’s wolf population, either. The federal government, too, pushed to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list, meaning they would no longer benefit from federal protection. Everything, it seemed, would all come down to the lawsuit.
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In the end, the consensus among the scientific community and the court was clear: no matter what happened at a federal level, California’s gray wolves would be protected under state law. In a perfect world, this would keep the gray wolves safe from hunters…
“If they’re coming from the Oregon side of the border or from Nevada, once they set a paw down in California they are protected,” Weiss said. But these idealistic words would not become a reality anytime soon.
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Late last year, a California-born wolf pack mysteriously vanished in remote Siskiyou County. Since biologists weren’t able to collar any pack members, they may never know what happened to the pack. What’s more, they’re not the only mystery to plague California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.
They’re also investigating the death of a young wolf that was mysteriously killed in Modoc County. It was handled as a criminal investigation, and the police warned the public that killing a wolf is a potential crime punishable with imprisonment.
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These tragic events only make the recent pack sighting on the trail camera all the more inspiring. Despite the resistance from the farming community, biologists remain hopeful that the wolves will one day lead many wild packs across California and beyond.
Anyone doubting the importance of wolves need look no further than Yellowstone National Park. In the '80s and early '90s, the beautiful scenery was completely ravaged. And it was all thanks to the wolves — or lack thereof.
See, as mentioned, before 1926, Yellowstone National Park was full of wolves. They thrived there, but within the first few decades of the 1900s, government predator control programs wiped them out entirely. This was a problem.
No one saw another wolf until 1977 — about 50 years later — but, even then, it was a lone wolf or two merely wandering through. Oddly, it was the lack of these wolves that led to the park's decline.
With no predators to fear, the deer population absolutely exploded. They could eat and overgraze all they wanted without worrying about wolves. Soon, the forests and meadows were barren, but the deer and their ilk kept at it.
As the deer kept grazing, taking all the resources for themselves, the other animals suffered. Creatures that dined on fauna stood no chance in the food race against deer. Animals that ate those animals saw their food supply dwindle.
And the rapid loss of vegetation didn't just leave the forests bare. Without vegetation keeping soil in place, the rivers that ran through Yellowstone began eroding, which prompted the loss of many animal species who relied on healthy waters to survive.
Yellowstone was struggling, and park employees needed to find a solution. It really all boiled down to the high numbers of deer, they knew, so, in 1995, they hatched a plan.
The deer needed predators, plain and simple, and workers figured this would be the perfect time to reintroduce wolves back into Yellowstone. Packs of gray wolves were released into the park, and hopeful employees prayed it was the answer.
Now, the deer were suddenly thrust back into the predator versus prey world, and even though there were far fewer wolves than deer, the wolves were fearsome hunters. They welcomed the challenge.
Day and night, the battle ensued, and the wolves were the victors nearly every time. This relationship between the wolves and deer is known as "top-down control."
Top-down control is when predators who sit atop the food chain assist with the regulation of the animals who are beneath them. That's exactly what happened when the wolves were reintroduced. With deer numbers dwindling, the vegetation flourished.
Aspen and willow trees that hadn't seen a successful life for decades finally grew back tenfold, and it seemed they were healthier than ever. But, the trees were just the very beginning of the massive change.
The waterways running through the parks began changing, and the regenerated vegetation growing on the riverbeds brought with it a whole new array of life not seen in such a long time.
For the first time in forever, beavers returned to the water. They began constructing their intricate dams, which contributed to a habitat that attracted a variety of reptiles, otters, and muskrats.
Because of the increased vegetation, mice and rabbits thrived, which, in turn, gave the red fox an amazing feasting opportunity. Red fox numbers grew, and still, there was even more happening.
The number of bears also increased. The deer had scoured bushes and ate the same berries the bears enjoyed, but with the berries now finally plentiful again, the bears could eat without a problem.
Through it all, the wolves gained a feathery friend! Ravens are known to follow behind wolves and pick at the remains of whatever they hunt and kill. The four-legged assassins were hard at work, and those ravens were always close behind.
The new lush vegetation not only benefited all of the animals, but it helped drastically slow down, and sometimes completely stop, the erosion of riverbeds. The changes were nothing short of miraculous.
Incredibly, the wolves, although nowhere near as abundant in numbers as the deer they hunted, managed to not only change the ecosystem but the physical geography of Yellowstone National Park. It was a feat that had every park employee — and wolf — howling with joyous pride.
What's most shocking about this development was how few wolves it took to really change Yellowstone for the better. Still, this reflects a human truth: it only takes a handful of people to make a huge difference.
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