Staff and guests at The Queenscliffe Family Hotel on Kangaroo Island in South Australia received an unexpected visitor this week: a koala.
Footage of him wandering through the venue attracted plenty of attention online, where it’s being doing the rounds on social media.
The koala wandered in on Wednesday and spent about 10 minutes roaming the aisles, assistant manager Nicole Arthur told 9news.com.au.
The koala didn’t appear injured or in distress but staff contacted a local vet and wildlife services just to be sure.
They also provided a bowl of water for the koala to sip on while he was in the store.
”Somebody from the wildlife group came down and had a look at him,” Arthur said.
“Made sure he wasn’t in distress, made sure he was OK, and they just left him there.”
Koalas are frequently seen in the trees around Kingscote, the area where the pub is situated, so the locals weren’t too surprised by the koala’s presence.
Tourists, on the other hand, were delighted at getting to see one of Australia’s iconic native animals up close and personal.
“We just observed him, ensuring that he was not being disturbed,” Arthur mentioned, emphasizing that people should avoid touching or engaging with wild koalas.
“And then he wandered back out.”
Even though it’s rare for koalas to wander into businesses or homes on Kangaroo Island, Arthur believed it might not be the last occurrence at The Queenscliffe Family Hotel.
“It’s just one of those things over here,” she mused.
“Nothing’s ever normal on Kangaroo Island.”
