A Sydney woman was left hospitalised and out of work for months after being attacked by a kangaroo while trying to rescue its joey, which was trapped in a fence.
Melanie Stubbs was hiking with a group of friends in the Megalong Valley near Katoomba in December when they spotted a joey hanging from a wire fence by its legs.
While the group went to help the joey, they could see the mother kangaroo nearby, growling. However, she didn’t think it posed any threat.
"I had no idea that a kangaroo would actually cause some harm. Plus, she was on the other side of the fence, so we kind of had a false sense of security," she told Nine News.
One of the hikers used a pole to fend off the kangaroo, with another filming the rescue.
When Stubbs approached the joey, she slipped on an embankment, which was when the kangaroo attacked.
She said it was “all over” her at “lightning bolt speed”.
"She came under the fence and reared up with her claws spread," she said.
"I don't remember what happened next, but it is on film. You can see in the film that I kick out the kangaroo. I don't remember doing any of that. The next thing I remember was I turned over onto my tummy.
"And I was trying to crawl away, and I'm yelling, 'Help me'.
When the attack was over, Stubbs noticed that some of her muscles were “outside her leg”.
Her calf muscle was “hanging off” her leg.
"It was horrendous,” she said.
Stubbs held her leg together and managed to get away from the dangerous position, flagging down a passerby on the nearby road, who took her to safety.
"The adrenalin just kicked in," she said.
The kangaroo had cut Stubbs’s calf down to the bone, forcing her into emergency surgery.
Sustaining two further infections, Stubbs was unable to work for months.
Doctors said she was lucky to be alive.
"It could have killed me," she said.
University of Melbourne biosciences researcher Graeme Coulson said that while kangaroo attacks are rare, they can cause serious injury.
"Their sharp claws can make deep cuts, and their powerful kicks can cause severe bruising and internal injuries," he said.
"If a kangaroo attacks, keep an eye on it and get away as quickly as possible while keeping low in a crouch because the kangaroo is less likely to give chase."
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