Man filmed punching kangaroo is a zookeeper and he won't lose his job

If you've not watched an online video of a man punching a kangaroo to save his dog in Australia, you may just have missed out on a strong contender for Fight of The Month.

In the video, a man is seen running towards a kangaroo that held his dog in a headlock.

But as the man got up-close-and-personal with the marsupial, it lets go of its grip of the dog and stands upright, focusing its attention on the man who has his fists raised.

But before the kangaroo is able to do anything else, the man threw it a right-cross that seemed to stun the animal.

Both man and dog walked away unharmed.

The video was posted on Facebook on Dec 3 by a Steven Stubenrauch, who said that he received the clip from a "buddy from Australia". It has since been viewed more than 4.1 million times and shared over 118,000 times.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRT7lf8byw[/embed]

It certainly went viral (fast) but then the questions started streaming in: Was the video faked? Should the man in the video be taken to task for punching an animal in the face? Who is he anyway?

Various news sites quickly shared details of who the man is and what he was doing in the bush with his dog in the first place.

The guy in the video was identified as zookeeper Greig Tonkins, reported Daily Mail, who was out on a pig hunting trip put together in June for a dying young friend Kailem.

Kailem, 19, died from cancer last week, according to news.com.au.

Meanwhile, calls have been made for Tonkins, who works in the elephant enclosure at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales to lose his job.

But the zoo apparently responded, saying there is "no suggestion" that Tonkins will be terminated over the matter, reported The Guardian.

"Mr Tonkins is an experienced zookeeper and during his six years at Tarongo Western Plains Zoo has always followed Taronga's best practice approach to animal care and welfare," it said in a statement.

sujint@sph.com.sg