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Girl attacked by kangaroo in Alabama

Posted at 11:19 AM, May 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-09 11:21:10-04

A nine-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten on the head by a kangaroo while visiting Harmony Park Safari in Madison County, Alabama. The incident was caught on camera.

"You blame yourself sometimes, like, 'why did I take her to the park that day? Why did I take her to see the kangaroo," the girl's mother Jennifer White said.

"I'm just glad it got me instead of my baby sister because it would have hurt her even worse," said nine-year-old Cheyenne.

She and her three-year-old sister were in for a surprise Saturday. Mom drove them to one of the girls favorite places.

The family went to Harmony Park Safari, and had never seen the kangaroos.

Jennifer White took cell phone video of her daughters, up close to the kangaroo, the younger one reaches through the fence, and that's when the kangaroo reaches its head and arms through the fence, grabs Cheyenne by her hair, and appears to bite her head. Her mother says her little girl now has fourteen stitches.

"I'm just glad I was there," Jennifer said.

The owners of the park declined to comment.

At the entrance to the kangaroo trail, there are signs posted showing a state law as a warning to customers that they take their own risks when visiting an agri-tourism business. There are also two plaques on the fence that say "I bite."

Jennifer says if the park had a better barrier preventing contact with animals, or fencing that wouldn't allow it, her daughter won't have been bitten.

"I don't want it to happen to someone else's kid because they may not be as fortunate as my daughter was," she said.