A pair of kangaroos delivered chaos during the final stage of cycling’s Tour Down Under on Sunday after bouncing onto the Australian course and taking down several riders.
Footage of the incident shows a kangaroo appearing on the 110-mile rural course with about 60 miles remaining, taking out the race leader in its path.
Moments later, a second kangaroo appeared and bounced into the same cycling pack, adding to the chaos as news.com.au reports.
Riders described the scene as surreal with some saying the unpredictable marsupials “threw themselves in front of the peloton.”
News.com.au noted live commentators were also left shaken and befuddled with one saying: “Oh it’s a kangaroo! Never seen that before.”
“Unfortunately, some hazards you just can’t plan for. Some wildlife you can’t tell to get out of the way,” said another.
The crash occurred during the Tour’s longest stage, featuring steep climbs, eight laps around the Adelaide Hills, and temperatures reaching the high 30s.
Despite the chaos, the race continued, though several riders were forced to withdraw due to injuries.
One of the kangaroos had to be euthanised due to its injuries as the other bounced clear and escaped unharmed.
Australia is a land known for it harsh climate and equally harsh animals.
In the past two weeks the vast island nation has seen dingo and shark attacks, most notably the tragic death of a Canadian tourist on K’gari (Fraser Island) linked to dingoes, alongside a surge in shark encounters and attacks in New South Wales (NSW) that led to beach closures.
A 26-year-old man was also hospitalized after being attacked by a crocodile while swimming in a creek in the outback on Tuesday.
The area in which the man was attacked is known as “croc country,” PEOPLE reports.
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