Australian Woman Mauled by a Kangaroo While Walking Her Dog: 'I Could Sense His Panic'

A woman in Australia needed surgery and 25 stitches on her face after she was attacked by a kangaroo while walking her dog.

According to 9News, Dina — who didn’t wish to share her last name — was walking in the state of Victoria when she let her dog off of its leash and it began chasing a kangaroo.

“I ran up the embankment to try and get my dog away, but not realizing that I was only three or four meters behind the ‘roo,” she told the outlet. “And that’s when I sensed the ‘roo was panicking and thinking ‘I’m being attacked on all sides.'”

7News reported that the kangaroo panicked as the dog was chasing it and attacked Dina from behind, knocking her to the ground.

“He looked at me and I knew what was going to happen,” she told 9News. “Something made me turn around. He attacked me from behind and he knocked me to the ground. He gouged out the back of my leg, I know now if I hadn’t turned around, I would probably have been disemboweled.”

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As the kangaroo began “pounding” and “jumping” on her, Dina said she played dead and told herself to “just wait until it is over.”

When the animal eventually stopped, other people nearby helped apply pressure to her wounds and call an ambulance, she told 7News.

According to 9News, Dina was released from the hospital earlier this week after undergoing surgery for the wounds on her legs and getting 25 stitches on her face. She told 7News she was just grateful that the attack missed both of her eyes.

“He missed my eyeball,” she said. “I am so fortunate that I still have my eyeball intact.”

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Despite everything, Dina said she doesn’t blame the kangaroo for the attack, as it probably felt threatened by her dog.

“Absolutely not, if anything, we’re encroaching on their ecology,” she told 9News. “I could sense his panic; I really felt for him, the poor thing.”

According to 7News, her message to others after her attack was “not to be afraid [of wildlife] but to have a respect for them.”

“And to respect where they live,” she said. “And maybe we can somehow live in harmony.”