'It tried to drown me!': Kangaroo turns into boxer, throws punches in unexpected showdown with Australian man

A man in New South Wales survived a terrifying encounter with an unusually aggressive and muscular kangaroo that allegedly "tried to drown" him during a dramatic roadside showdown.

Don James found himself in an unexpected "boxing match" with the male kangaroo Friday morning near Port Macquarie, after the animal chased him down and forced him into floodwaters pooled on the side of the road.

"It was holding me under," James later told ABC News. "I just remember being under water and kicking and screaming and carrying on."

The surreal showdown was witnessed by local resident Kristy Lees, who was checking on flood levels with her husband when the drama unfolded.

"It's not every day a big, male kangaroo decides to take you on," Lees told the BBC. "Even in Australia, you do not expect to see it."

According to Lees, she was warned by two men about a “really big” kangaroo lurking just ahead. Moments later, she saw it – standing next to a parked car and "as big as the car itself."

Before she could react, the kangaroo lunged at her vehicle. But its attention quickly shifted to Don James, who was walking away up the road.

"They literally got into a boxing match," Lees recalled. "I'm looking in the rear-view mirror, and they are throwing punches."

As James tried to retreat, he stumbled into a pool of floodwater. That's when things took a dark turn.

"The kangaroo was holding him down," Lees said. "It tried to drown the man."

James only escaped after the kangaroo was apparently spooked, possibly by an approaching car, giving him a chance to break free and stagger toward Lee, who helped raise the alarm in the community.

While kangaroo attacks are rare, experts say the animals do have a defensive instinct to lure predators into water and attempt to subdue them there — a tactic typically used against dogs, not humans.

Wildlife behaviourist notes say that while kangaroos aren't actively trying to kill, their actions in self-defence can be dangerous.

Try telling that to Don James, who now holds the rare distinction of having survived a kangaroo assault and a previous great white shark encounter.

"First the shark, now the kangaroo," he reportedly told Lees. "I feel like they're trying to kill me — all these animals."