'How to get him off': Chaos at gas station as Koala tries to claw employee's leg
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA: A koala stormed into a petrol station in South Australia. The employee was taken aback when a koala approached from behind the counter and attempted to claw up his leg. In the video a scared red-haired Ampol employee can be heard shouting, "I don’t know how to get him off,” when the man behind the camera is seen clicking his fingers and trying to persuade the animal.
According to the CCTV footage, the customers in Woodside store were startled just moments before the 5.7 kg female koala entered the store through the front entrance. While another man films with his phone from a safe distance nearby, one man can be seen retreating away from the marsupial, Yahoo News reported.
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'Who’s the new Ampol employee?'
The lost koala is seen cruising through shelves stocked with Coca-Cola bottles, bags of CCs, and packages of Allen's lollipops before finding her way inside a cleaning area in a video that service station employee James Paparella provided to Yahoo News Australia. “Who’s the new Ampol employee?” someone jokes in the video.
It had been an "ordinary day," according to James, when a koala chose to come into the store. James and the service staff kept the animal inside the shop for around 40 minutes while they waited for assistance because they didn't want it to wander onto the road. "We kept serving customers, but just with a koala between our legs," he said. "We had it behind the counter and had a water bowl out," he continued. "She jumped on our legs occasionally, she must have thought we were trees. We just made sure she didn't tear things up."
Koala eviction is rising throughout Adelaide Hills.
The koala was eventually discovered to be in good health, according to Adelaide-based Koala Rescue Inc. The koala was "pretty chill," according to volunteer wildlife rescuer Jemma Manfre, and was seated in a service area behind the counter. Jemma claimed the koala bolted up the tree after being released in a woodland some 500 metres away and didn't turn around until she reached the summit. Merridy Montarello, a friend of Jemma's and a seasoned koala volunteer, thinks that the number of koala rescues is rising.
Nonetheless, koalas are classified as endangered in NSW, ACT, and Queensland, despite being considered common in some parts of South Australia and Victoria. They're still being displaced due to industrial development throughout the nation.
