Meet these nine bundles of joy. A wildlife sanctuary in Australia welcomed a batch of baby koalas, bringing hope to the species. Before the devastating bushfires of 2019, an estimated 36,000 koalas remained in New South Wales.
COROMANDEL VALLEY, Australia — Picture a Christmas tree and you'll probably think of baubles, tinsel and fairy lights, but one Australian woman came home to find an unusual adornment: A koala.
Surprised by the unusual visitor, Amanda McCormick, who lives in Coromandel Valley near Adelaide, southern Australia, called local koala rescue organization 1300Koalaz.
"This evening our hotline operator took a call. At first she thought she was the victim of a prank call," wrote the organization in a Facebook post Wednesday.
"But no, 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."
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Dee Hearne-Hellon, 1300Koalaz co-founder, told CNN that it is not unheard of for koalas to enter homes, but it's not an everyday occurrence.
"The koala was a healthy juvenile female and was released out the front of the house, which is in a really lovely area for koalas if they have to live amongst us," said Hearne-Hellon. "The koala was still in the same tree she chose to climb when I saw her today (Thursday)."
The team celebrated the successful removal on Facebook with a festive ditty: "Tis the season to be jolly, Koalalalala Lalalala."
However, Hearne-Hellon warned against trying to move koalas by yourself.
"(The) best thing to do is leave them alone as they can get aggressive and call 1300koalaz to remove them," she said. "As cute as they look they have very long claws and very sharp teeth."
Koalas are one of Australia's most famous animals, but populations are under increasing threat due to the impact of humans.
Koalas, lions and more! Wildlife photos from around the world
See some of your best wildlife pictures from around the world
Toby the koala
We saw this koala on French Island near Melbourne, Australia and named him Toby. (Photo by @Estelle)
Male Lion
Taken in Kenya, Africa January 2016 (Photo by @RustyH)
On the lookout
Alaskan Brown Bear cubs looking for Mom (Photo: @TJD1)
Baby Elephant
The Ark, Kenya, Africa (photo: @Polunci)
Lion Cub
Taken in South Africa (photo: @mlw617)
Lunchtime in Alaska
Brooks Falls in Alaska is a great place to watch the grizzly bears fish during the salmon run. This bear had caught one for his lunch. (Photo: @Burnitz)
Fox and kits
We spotted this adorable mother fox and her kits on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. (photo: @alphorn)
Wildlife
Biking the I&M Canal (photo: @Starz)
Hiawatha Mule Deer Fawn
This photo was taken while my family and I rode the root of the Hiawatha trail on the old Milwaukee railroad in northern Idaho at lookout pass ski area that rides back down into Montana on our mountain bike's. We came across this mule deer fawn and its mama. This fawn kept playing and running back and forth feeling good about life and giving me this perfect photo opportunity. (photo: @coleigh)
Bird's Eye View
This Bald Eagle was scoping out fish in the Boundary Waters of northeastern Minnesota. (photo: @TimP)
School in the Bahamas
My wife and I were vacationing at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and were in the Digs area (an underground water tank) I took this photo of a school of fish and just thought it looked surreal. (photo: @kevrab)
Arf!
Seal in the Galapagos (photo: @Shooter)
Golden Mantel Glory
Golden Mantel squirrel with Wizard Island in the background.
Delhi Presidential Palace
Monkey brigade in front of the Presidential Palace in old Delhi (photo: @BrentC)
Flaming Silhouette
Two male deer move upwind in front of a lightning ignited wildfire. (photo: @SethKroft)
Collared Lizard
Collared lizard in Petrified Forest (photo: @enw931)
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
East Coast of Florida (photo: @JBeaudoin)
Red Dogs Running the Madison
Bison crossing the Madison River, Yellowstone National Park. May 2016 (photo: @MTTomb)
Dogs, dogs, dogs
When visiting beautiful Harbour Island, Bahamas, noticed that there were quite a few dogs roaming free and many of them looked alike! (photo: @BigJay)
Buffalo Sunset
Custer State Park in the Black Hills (photo: @MandyJo)
Sleeping dog
Dog Day Afternoon in Santorini, Greek Islands (photo: @Rich68)
Stay close
An adult female zebra cautions her offspring to stay close as lions were spotted. Picture taken in the Serengeti, Tanzania. (photo: @davedjest)
Traveling trio
Giraffes in Amboseli National Park, Kenya (photo: @JoMo)
Parrotfish
While snorkeling in Roatan, Honduras, this parrotfish seems to be smiling and waving hello. (photo: @spike1)
Silverback Gorilla in Bwindi Uganda
We were allowed to be with a family of 18 gorilla's in October 2015, part of our 50th Anniversary trip for over an hour! It was absolutely awesome to be within inches of these creatures. So close to humans and very curious of us too!! I even had a young gorilla hold my hand! (photo: @Ebony)
Zebras in Tanzania
These zebras stopped in a stream for a drink but scattered about five seconds after this picture was taken as a crocodile approached. The picture was taken with a Canon EOS camera while on a safari in Tanzania. (photo: @tnel100)
