ADELAIDE, SA — An Australian family came home to find a surprise ornament in their Christmas tree. A juvenile Koala had broken in and attached itself to the 6-foot plastic tree.
Amanda McCormick of Adelaide recorded a video of the 3-to-4-year old female and of the local Koala rescue team who came to detach the animal.
The Guardian reports that Amanda's family came home Wednesday to find ornaments on the floor.
"There was baubles all over the floor … and she looked up and there was a koala in the tree," Amanda's daughter, Taylah, reportedly said. "It was pretty tangled up in the lights. It was a fake tree and very old but she still tried eating the leaves off it … I saw her munch down on some but she stopped when she realized it was plastic."
Amanda said when she called the Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue, the operator thought it was a prank.
Two rescue team members arrived and tried their best to remove the koala without doing damage to the tree, but Amanda kept telling them the tree didn't matter. She didn't want them to get hurt and that the memory of this moment was worth it.
The marsupial, who Taylah reportedly named Daphne, groaned and fought to stay on the tree. The team detached her, put her in a crate and released her back into a nearby tree.
"It was a very memorable experience," Amanda told The Guardian. "After a bad year, it was nice to have that."
