Tourists in Australia's Lake Macquarie are ignoring warnings and feeding carrots to kangaroos who are aggressive at the sight of sugary snack, a tour operator said.
The issue has reached the point where national news is warning tourists of the dangers of feeding kangaroos.
Each week thousands of people come to see the kangaroos near a psychiatric hospital, enticed by travel blogs promising "adorable wild kangaroos" that are "tame enough to get close to and take photos with," Reuters reported.
Tourists approach kangaroos with carrots in their hands and while trying to take photos, they get attacked.
A photo posted by a tour operator on social media showed a kangaroo leaping up to kick a tourist with its powerful legs. Other photos showed a woman with a scratched face.
"Kangaroos can occasionally be aggressive no matter what the circumstances are, but 90 percent of the time it's the people who are trying to feed them who are attacked," Shane Lewis, who operates a tourist shuttle service to the park, told Reuters.
Lewis said he showed photos of injuries to tourists as a reminder of the damage a wild animal can do.
A kangaroo's natural diet is mostly grass, so the sugar in carrots can make it hard to effectively absorb nutrients and lead to a "slow and painful death", she added.
Politician Greg Piper said that there isn't much to do except to educate people.
"The only thing we can do is educate people about the dangers and find a way to manage the situation, not just for the safety of visitors and the hospital's residents but also for the safety of the kangaroos."
