Blue Mountains hiker sustained serious injuries after kangaroo encounter

Melanie Stubbs was hiking in Megalong Valley in NSW in December when the incident was caught on video.

In the footage, Ms Stubbs can be seen trying to free a kangaroo joey from barbed wire fencing.

But the joey's mother, intent on protecting its injured offspring, hopped towards and growled at the hikers several times.

The adult kangaroo was then caught on camera tunneling under the fence and leaping at the would-be rescuer.

In an interview with Channel Nine, Ms Stubbs revealed she had sustained horrifying injuries from the encounter, that saw her need emergency surgery on her calf, and left her on crutches for several months.

"I remember being on my tummy trying to crawl away and I could feel it pounding on my back, I had a backpack on so I think that saved my back a little," she said.

Wildlife Victoria chief executive Lisa Palma told ACM the incident was an important reminder kangaroos behaved differently to domestic pets, and were better observed from a distance.

While kangaroos were not fundamentally dangerous, Ms Palma said they would defend themselves if they felt their offspring were being threatened.

According to Ms Stubbs, a kangaroo hopping erratically near humans or growling, such as in this video, were clear signs the animal was distressed.

If a person did come across injured wildlife, Ms Palma said the best course of action was to call an emergency response operator such as wildlife Victoria or WIRES.

"While this was a very tragic incident, it does highlight the importance of deploying the appropriate trained wildlife skills to respond," she said.

"In most cases we would dispatch a trained rescuer, and possibly a veterinarian as well to attend the animals."

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"No matter where in Australia, if coming across that it would be a function of calling your local wildlife emergency support service, and then getting the right advice and help."

Wildlife Victoria can be contacted on 03 8400 7300, while people in other states can call WIRES on 1300 094 737.