Australian Family Discovers Furry Impostor in Their Christmas Tree
Furry woodland creatures are spreading a little Christmas cheer this season, albeit inadvertently, as an Australian family found a koala bear nestled in the branches of their fake Christmas tree.
According to The Guardian, the McCormick family came home in Coromandel Valley, Adelaide, on Dec. 2, only to find that something wasn’t quite right.
“I think the dog went straight to the Christmas tree and was sniffing around and Mum thought that was a bit weird,” 16-year-old Taylah McCormick said.
“There [were] baubles all over the floor … and she looked up and there was a koala in the tree.”
?Tis the season to be jolly
Koalalalala Lalalala ?This evening our hotline operator took a call. …
Posted by 1300Koalaz on Wednesday, December 2, 2020
It was then that the family discovered the young marsupial tangled in lights and hugging the middle of their tree, having already attempted to eat a few fake leaves.
“I saw her munch down on some, but she stopped when she realized it was plastic,” Taylah recalled, according to The Guardian.
Amanda McCormick, Taylah’s mother, first thought the koala might have been a toy placed there as a prank.
“I thought, ‘Is this a joke?'” she said. “I thought one of my kids may have put like a soft toy in there, but no, it was a live one.”
The surprised family called the Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue to pick up the animal, but even the operator suspected she had received a prank call.
After some convincing, the operator dispatched a rescue crew to free the koala from its entanglement. Officials determined the animal was a healthy female between the ages of 3 and 4.
The McCormicks said they were told by rescue experts that the animal likely entered the house while the doors were open earlier that day and probably was there for about three hours. After entering, the koala was drawn to the unusual brightness of the tree, Amanda said she was told.
“It’s not actually that hot, so they wouldn’t be seeking shade, particularly at the moment,” said the rescue’s co-founder Dee Hearne-Hellon. “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.”
The small marsupial lovingly was named “Daphne” by Taylah McCormick before it was escorted out of the home by the rescue team.
Remarkably, this is not the first time a small, fluffy animal has been found caught in a Christmas tree this year.
On Nov. 16, a tiny Saw-whet owl was discovered by a transport worker in the famed Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The man stumbled upon the small bird while securing the massive tree on site and immediately called his wife to tell her. She relayed his call to the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, New York.
A Secret in the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Ravensbeard is excited to share a rare Holiday story with you. …
Posted by Ravensbeard Wildlife Center on Tuesday, November 17, 2020
The animal then was tucked in a box and sent to the wildlife center, where it was identified.
“He/she was a little Saw-whet owl, the smallest owls we have in the northeast,” Ravensbeard staff wrote in an online statement.
“Back at Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, we’ve given him fluids and are feeding him all the mice he will eat. It had been three days since he ate or drank anything.”
After about a week of care, the owl — affectionately named Rockefeller, or “Rocky” for short — took to the skies on Nov. 24, continuing his migration south.
Rockefeller and Daphne have been released into the wild to spend the Christmas season with their own families.
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