A woman who was cycling in Australia reported to authorities she was attacked by a kangaroo with a jump-kick that hit her so hard it burst her breast implants.
Sharon Heinrich said that she and a friend were biking along a public trail in Clare Valley in South Australia when the kangaroo began to chase them.
The 45-year-old cyclist said as the two began to ride past the beast, it gave chase then leapt at them first using its powerful legs to slam into her and then springing off to hit her companion, Helen Salter, 47.
Both were knocked off their bikes and seriously injured.
“I’ve gone to ride past, I thought: ‘He’s cute,’ and he’s just jumped me and taken out the side of me,” Heinrich said of the attack. “As I’m falling, I felt him push off me and then he’s flown to Helen and taken her out.”
“We flew probably one-and-a-half meters after he hit us,” she added.
The animal attack victim said she didn’t think the beast was agitated and “didn’t look angry” as the cyclists were nearing.
Slater was less injured, but even though she suffered a concussion, she rode her bike into town to get help for her fallen comrade.
Heinrich later joked that her implants acted like “air bags” protecting her ribs and internal organs when they were ruptured by the Joey’s kicks.
“It’s all you can do now: Laugh about it and heal,” she told the media after the attack.
The woman also noted that her doctors have said she’ll make a full recovery.
Kangaroos may look cute and cuddly, but they can be aggressive and dangerous when they get their dander up. The jumpers are responsible for over 20 deaths in Australia since the year 2000. And by some estimates the fast-moving animals are also responsible for up to 5.5 percent of roadway deaths when they jump into traffic.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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