It’s almost Christmas and I’m pretty sure everyone is excited about the holidays. The Christmas lights are in place, the Christmas trees are up and decorated and Christmas songs fill the wintry air.
The spirit of the season is felt everywhere, and as it turns out, even animals are feeling the magic in the air, too. That includes one koala who was found in a family’s Christmas tree in Coromandel Valley, South Australia.
The Australian family lived in their home in the hills and were very surprised to find out that a koala had wandered inside their residence and climbed their Christmas tree. It was a moment no one expected and certainly not something that happened to everyone on a given day.
“Well that’s something you don’t see every day,” wrote Amanda McCormick in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “We just came home to a real life koala up our Xmas tree in our lounge room!”
https://www.facebook.com/amanda.mccormick.5623/posts/10160772800323986
The furry fellow was perched quietly on the tree, surprising the residents when they got home.
The koala who they fondly nicknamed Daphne was silent as she looked around the room, eyeing the newcomers while she was atop the Christmas tree and its decorations. She was clearly having a comfortable time in her new place and she is not moving an inch from it.
Through the comment section of her post, Amanda explained that the family had left the back door open so their dog could get in and out of the house in the morning.
“Little lady must have just wandered in and made herself at home!” McCormick wrote.
The family found the koala’s visit adorable and cute, but they also knew they had to call the authorities to handle the situation right away. Amanda reached out to a koala rescue organization called 1300KOALAZ, a group managed and completely run by volunteers.
When Amanda called, the hotline operator initially thought she was pranking them and did not believe that a koala would do such a thing. While it is an unusual thing to happen, it is not impossible especially for houses in the hills where koalas live nearby.
“It’s not a common event for koalas to wander into people’s homes but it does happen from time to time. They live throughout the Adelaide suburbs now so it is going to happen,” shared Dee Hearne-Hellon, the co-founder of the organization, in an interview with CBS News. “We have never had a koala in a Christmas tree before, certainly a first for us.”
The co-founder further shared that it did not take long for the team to get Daphne from the tree. The koala was initially agitated but was soon calmed down by wrapping a towel around her and getting her from the Christmas tree.
According to Hearne-Hellon, Daphne is estimated to be around 3 to 4 years old and a healthy koala. Shortly after getting her to let go of the tree, Daphne was promptly released back outside into a large gum tree at the front of the family’s property.
When handling koalas that wander inside homes, the best way to handle the situation is to always call in the experts. The little animals can be quite aggressive and the situation could get worse if they are not treated properly. Calling in the rescue organization was the best move and it was fortunate that Amanda and her family made the right action.
Watch the video below to see the complete clip of how the rescuers got Daphne from the Christmas tree.
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