Australian Woman Discovers Adorable Koala Among The Branches Of Her Christmas Tree

Days after a tiny saw-whet owl made a guest appearance in the Rockefeller Christmas tree, an Australian woman was in for an adorable surprise hiding in the tree inside her home—a koala.

Amanda McCormick, a resident of the Southern Australian city of Adelaide, spotted the innocent-looking furry critter peeping out of her Christmas tree upon returning to her Coromandel Valley home on Wednesday, Australian publication 7 News reported.

The Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue, a local non-profit koala rescue organization, said in a Facebook post that the telephone operator initially thought McCormick's call was just a hoax. But when the authorities arrived at her home, they found the koala clinging to the branches of her faux spruce adorn with ornaments.

"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," the post, which accompanied pictures of the koala, read.

The organization thanked McCormick for the "great pictures" and for "making sure this little koala got its wish, even if it was just for a short while."

The koala was reportedly released into the wild.

The rescuers confirmed in the comment section that it was a female koala. "Koalas are very curious creatures and if the opportunity presents itself, they will investigate," the organization told Australian publication 9 News. "We have rescued koalas in chicken coops, bathrooms, open inspections, children's prams, bicycles, brooms, toy cars ... but a Christmas tree is a first for us."

Koalas, which are tree-dwelling species, are known to live in Southern Australia in huge numbers. With furry ears, black noses and paunchy little bodies, they are a sight to behold. Koalas are generally found in the wild, but on various occasions, they try to break into houses in search of water to satisfy their high need for fluid or to escape high temperatures outside.

Unfortunately, the Australian koala population faces a threat of extinction, following the devastating bushfires last year that killed as many as 5,000 of them, a tally which is nearly 12 percent of the animal's population in New South Wales.