The Incredibly Sad Story Behind That Viral Video of a Man Punching a Kangaroo

The memes about this man duffing out a kangaroo to save his dog > the actual story behind it.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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If you're like us, the above video, which showed a man punching a kangaroo in the face while trying to save his dog, was life. I personally think I made a "ride for me like this guy rode for his dog" remark on the social media. The clip that was in rotation was timeless.

This is the full video 😂😂😂. Guy saves his dog by taking on a kangaroo. The way he looks at him after the punch 😭 pic.twitter.com/lpCIdlHSzo

The one thing many people said (aside from "peep how stunned that kangaroo looked!") was "how the hell does something like this even happen?!" The Daily Mail got down to the bottom of the video, which was a bona fide viral sensation here, but apparently caused up quite the commotion when it hit Australia. Hell, even those who hate animal abuse understood.

Man, animal abuse is wrong. But, if a kangaroo was going after my pet, I'd punch him too.
that kangaroo was hella shook bc that man threw a punch 😂
can't stop thinking of the video of a man punching a kangaroo to save his dog. none of you would punch a kangaroo in the face for me, i bet

The question is, where did this even come from?

As the story goes, the battle took place back in June of 2016. The man in the video, Greig Tonkins (who is reportedly a zookeeper), was on a boar-hunting trip with a number of his friends, including Kailem, a 19-year-old guy who passed away last week after a battle with Ewing Sarcoma. The footage was from a longer video clip shot by another friend, Greg Bloom, who was documenting their boar hunting (word is that they were trying to get Kailem a "tonner," a.k.a. a wild boar weighing in at around ~220 lbs.).

Tonkins' dog Max got caught in a kangaroo headlock was one of a pack who were helping on the hunt. Apparently this is how kangaroos act in the wild some times? Whatever the case may be, Tonkins says he only "stunned" the kangaroo during their fist fight (hence the 'roo and his "WTF" face), with his friend Matthew Amor telling news.com.au that “it was funny because the guy who did it is the most placid bloke. We laughed at him for chucking such a shit punch.”

As of now, spokespeople at the zoo are reportedly "working with Mr. Tonkins to understand the exact circumstances of the event and will consider any appropriate action." Amor says that, if Kailem were alive, he'd love to see the clip going viral. "Kailem would be looking down from up there [heaven] and laughing because it was the highlight of the trip."

If you found some joy from the clip, or want to contribute, there is a GoFundMe that was set up to aid in Kailem's battle, which went on for two years. Ewing Sarcoma "only receives 1.4 percent of cancer research funding," so they are asking for those who want to donate to hit up Lifehouse. Imagine how much they could draw in if every view garnered $1.

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