He said that after Lulu's mother was run over, his son Luke "brought her home, bottle-fed her and it just went from there. She's been part of the family since." In what could pass for an episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Mr Richards was discovered by his family after they heard Lulu "yapping" several hundred metres from the house and followed the sound.

"They've got their own natural noise they make, it's like a little dog yapping," said Luke, 19. "My mum and cousin were outside and they were looking for Dad... they thought they heard this noise, and it was the kangaroo, and she was standing down there next to Dad." "She's pretty amazing," Mr Richards' wife, Lynn, said. "If it wasn't for her, I really don't know how long it would have been before we actually found him." Mr Richards was taken to The Alfred hospital on Sunday with head injuries and released that night. He does not remember the accident, but he has been told about Lulu's role in his rescue.

"I can remember her coming through the top paddock as I was walking down to to clean up the limbs around the tree," he said. "The next thing I knew, I was in The Alfred hospital." Over the years, the kangaroo has grown comfortable wandering around the property, and even knocks on the door occasionally for a slice of bread or a biscuit. Now, it seems, Lulu is destined for worldwide fame.

After breaking the story on Monday, The Age fielded calls from media organisations as far away as London, Los Angeles and Budapest. The RSPCA said Lulu could be in the running for its Animal Award, which is given to animals that have done something "quite exceptional" for humans. A kangaroo behavioural expert from the University of New England has already labelled the act as extraordinary, even for a kangaroo that is comfortable with humans.

"Kangaroos outside Skippy the Bush Kangaroo do not spend their time helping out injured people. It's just totally abnormal behaviour," Professor Peter Jarman said. "Kangaroos don't even help out other kangaroos... except their own injured young."

Professor Jarman warned against reading too much into the incident, adding that it said "nothing at all" about the animal's intelligence. Back at the farm, Lulu was being rewarded with a few of her favourite treats - malted milk and Teddy Bear biscuits.