Australian woman hospitalised after brutal attack by kangaroo with joey

  • 30/07/2022
"It jumped straight at her and knocked her over."
"It jumped straight at her and knocked her over." Photo credit: Getty Images

The daughter of an Australian woman says her mum could have died following a brutal attack by a kangaroo. 

Sixty-seven-year-old Sunshine Coast woman Dianne and daughter Tanya were out for a walk when the pair walked past a bush and a female kangaroo with a joey jumped out and began attacking Dianne.

"It jumped straight at her and knocked her over and instead of the kangaroo jumping away it then start kicking mum," Tanya told ABC Australia.

"Mum has covered her face with her hands and tried to cover her torso with her legs and with her right leg, she was trying to kick the kangaroo."

Tanya told ABC two local Palmwoods residents heard her mother's screams for help, and they too were chased by the kangaroo. 

"A lady came out and saw the kangaroo laying into mum - she saw five or six kicks," Tanya said. 

"That was after the kangaroo has already probably given mum about five kicks."

Tanya said a man then came down the road with a big stick towards the kangaroo - but the angry marsupial then chased him. 

She said locals at the scene stood around Dianne, who was lying on the ground, to stop the kangaroo from returning for round two.

"Without them, mum would have probably died, because a kangaroo wasn't going to lay off and would have eventually got her head."

Dianne was rushed to the hospital where she underwent surgery on Monday, and has since received a blood transfusion and is now experiencing kidney problems.

"They have said she's not stable and she's not out of the woods."

Dianne has a broken femur, scratches and some bite marks.