Australian Family Surprised After Returning Home To Find Koala Hanging Out In Their Christmas Tree

Celebrating Christmas in Australia comes with its own unique set of difficulties.

One family, for instance, returned home to discover their trees ornaments strewn all over the ground. The culprit quickly became obvious.

A koala had climbed into their tree while they were away.

The koala, who was quickly rescued after being untangled from the family's Christmas lights, became a star on social media.

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16-year-old Taylah McCormick, who recorded the koala in a viral TikTok, told The Guardian:

"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."

Taylah's mother Amanda McCormick commented:

"It must have crawled in when the doors were open. It would have been in our house for at least three hours."

The koala was quickly helped out of the tree by Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue, whose co-founder, Dee Hearne-Hellon, described it as a healthy three to four-year-old female.

The McCormick family nicknamed the koala Daphne and are happy to report she's now safe and sound in a nearby rescue organization.

Now we can all look forward to a new claymation special: The Christmas Koala!

Coming soon to the Hallmark Channel...

...or maybe Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas?