Dehydrated koala approaches cyclist for water as temperature hits 104F in Australia: 'He walked right up to me'
A parched koala grabbed the attention of a cyclist, walked up to her and thirstily gulped down water on the road to Adelaide, Australia — a heartrending sight that was caught on camera.
On December 27, a group of women, including Anna Heusler from South Australia, were heading from the hills toward Adelaide. This is when Heusler came across a Koala sitting in the middle of the road. Although spotting Koalas is not uncommon in the bushland, Heusler said it was unusual observing how it reacted to them.
"We’ve seen literally hundreds of koalas over the years, we have never seen a koala do this," she told 7News. "We were descending from Norton Summit Road back into the city early this morning and we came around a bend and there was a koala sitting in the middle of the road. Naturally, we stopped because we were going to help relocate him off the road."
She added: "I stopped on my bike and he walked right up to me, quite quickly for a koala, and as I was giving him a drink from all our water bottles, he actually climbed up onto my bike. None of us have ever seen anything like it."
A video of the incident was shared by bikebug2019 on Instragam. You can watch it here.
The koala, which was lucky to have not been scarred by the devastating bushfires raging through the continents, was escorted by the group back to the trees after it had its fill of water. Heusler said the brief interaction with the creature brought a smile to her face.
Due to the wildfires, Australia has seen a spike in temperatures, with the forecast in Adelaide estimated to reach 40 degrees (104 degrees Fahrenheit) centigrade on December 27.
“Keeping vulnerable South Australians safe and well in the extreme heat forecast over the next few days is our priority,” Australia's Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said in a statement. "During a code red, agencies across Adelaide will extend their daytime operating hours to ensure people sleeping rough are keeping cool and well-hydrated during the extreme heat.”