A kangaroo attacked a female jogger and chased her to a house in a scene 'like a horror movie' which was blamed on her perfume driving the animal wild (file photo)
A kangaroo attacked a female jogger and chased her to a house in a scene 'like a horror movie' which was blamed on her perfume driving the animal wild (file photo)
A kangaroo attacked a female jogger and chased her to a house in a scene 'like a horror movie' in Australia which was blamed on her perfume driving the animal wild.

Tracy Noonan was knocked to the ground and scratched in the back by the kangaroo while going for a run near Melbourne, saying she had 'felt a massive thump in the middle of my back' and turned round to see the marsupial standing over her.

After taking refuge in a nearby house, she looked outside and saw the animal continuing to watch her for the next 20 minutes, she told 3AW radio.


A ranger told her that the scent of the Sarah Jessica Parker perfume she was wearing had likely attracted the kangaroo's attention, she said.

'It's so funny because who puts perfume on to go on a run?,' Noonan said as she recounted the attack.

'I left early in the morning and I was fumbling around for deodorant and that's all I could find. I was not trying to attract any kangaroos, I can assure you that.'

Noonan said she often sees kangaroos while running, but this time the lone marsupial came jumping over fences to confront her.

After trying to take cover, she was thumped in the back and knocked to the ground, fearing that the kangaroo was about to claw her to death.

She managed to pick herself up and threw some rocks at the animal to keep it at bay, buying herself enough time to take refuge in a nearby house.

But the kangaroo continued to give chase, following her up the driveway of the house before the residents invited the woman in and scared away the animal.

Still the kangaroo would not leave, standing outside the window for 20 long minutes while she took cover inside.


'It was something out of a horror movie. It just kept coming and coming. I thought, oh my God, this kangaroo is going to kill me,' she said.

Noonan was running in Beaconsfield, a suburb of Melbourne, where the ranger told her that the fragrance was likely to blame.

Authorities in Australia say the risk of kangaroo attack is generally very low, but their behaviour can be 'unpredictable when they feel threatened'.

When they do attack, they will push with their forepaws or kick out with their hind legs, treating their human target like another kangaroo.

Experts advise people to curl into a ball and lie still with their hands covering their face if they are attacked by a kangaroo, and wait for the animal to move away.