A kangaroo died at a zoo in Southern China several days after visitors hurled rocks at the animal, according to local reports.
The kangaroo was injured on April 4 at the Fuzhou Zoo in Fujian province after being hit by sharp rocks thrown by tourists.
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The 12-year-old female died a few days later. An autopsy appeared to show the wounded animal’s cause of death was a kidney injury, AFP reported.
“Some of us saw visitors throwing stones, and an attendant went out to stop it, but the visitors denied doing it,” a zoo veterinarian told The Paper, the New York Times reported.
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AFP reported that it was not uncommon for zoo visitors to throw rocks at the marsupials in an attempt to get them to hop.
“Some adults see the kangaroos sleeping and then pick up rocks to throw at them,” one of the Fuzhou zoo attendants told the Haixia Metropolis News, as reported by the New York Times. “After we cleared the display area of rocks, they went to find them elsewhere.”
A second kangaroo at the zoo was also left injured days after having a piece of brick thrown at it. The four-year-old male was left with a foot injury, which he has since recovered from.
The zoo has cameras which look inwards toward the animals’ pens, so the perpetrator(s) were not caught on camera.
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