- A koala ended up chilling in a Christmas tree when it wandered into an Australian family’s home.
- Everyone couldn’t believe it at first and thought it was just a stuffed toy.
- The koala has since been safely released by animal rescuers into a nearby tree outside.
An Australian family was surprised to see a fluffy stowaway hanging in their Christmas tree: a koala!
Taylah McCormick, 16, told The Guardian that they first spotted the confused-looking koala, whom she named Daphne, “pretty tangled up in the lights” in the tree.
“It was a fake tree and very old but she still tried eating the leaves off it,” she said. “I saw her munch down on some but she stopped when she realized it was plastic.”
Not everyone believed it, however. Even her mom, Amanda, first thought that her kids simply put a soft koala toy in the tree. And when they contacted an animal rescue center, the operator thought it was a prank call!
Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue shared the story on Facebook, “A koala desperate to get in the Christmas spirit had wandered into Amanda McCormick’s house and decided it wanted to be the fairy on the Christmas tree.”
It turns out that it wasn’t the first time that koalas have been spotted in the family’s property. Granted, Amanda says they never saw one just chilling “inside on our Christmas tree.”
Taylah acknowledged how the unusual situation could only have happened in Australia. She shared a video in a TikTok post with the caption, “gotta love coming home and finding a koala in your christmas tree.. wtf #australia #koala.”
@mcqueen1004 gotta love coming home and finding a koala in your christmas tree.. wtf #australia #koala
♬ stayin alive x poouussyy talk – DJ Lilli
Even the social media users who saw the video could not believe that the koala was real.
Taylah shared, “All the comments have been like, ‘There’s no way this is real.’ And the ones that do realize it’s real, they’re like, ‘Oh, next we’re going to be riding a kangaroo to school,’ and ‘This is a true Aussie Christmas.'”
The teen also shared the moment the rescue team released Daphne outside to a nearby tree.
@mcqueen1004 Reply to @3mbrace we had to let daphne go ???? #australia #koala
♬ original sound – McQueen
Dee Hearne-Hellon, co-founder of Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue offered an explanation to the Guardian: “It’s not actually that hot so they wouldn’t be seeking shade, particularly at the moment. … They are curious, and they are in the suburbs, and if they see something that they want to have a look at, they’ll just drop in and have a look!”
Perhaps this will inspire other families to consider adding a stuffed toy to their Christmas tree decorations! That koala certainly looked adorable just chilling in the tree.
Source: People