Shoppers at an ALDI story in Portland, Victoria have been shocked to see a man transporting a koala around the car park in a trolley.
The footage went viral on TikTok when someone captured the fuzzy native riding in style.
Personally, I would lose my tiny mind if I saw a koala this close in the wild (or, in ALDI) so I respect the restraint it took to simply film the event.
Peter Elmore, the man pushing the koala, has spoken to 7News and explained the heartwarming tale behind the event.
Advert
Peter and his wife Kelly were on holiday in Portland from their home town of Hastings, Victoria, when they spotted the koala in the car park.
He immediately saw the creature had been trapped and was unable to scale the walls of the area to escape.
"There was only one way in and out of the car park, and the koala was cornered," he told 7NEWS.com.au.
"She was trying to climb the high wooden fence and kept falling. And because koalas can't put their arms out to protect themselves when they fall, she kept landing on her head and bashing her face.
Advert
"Then I saw an elderly man nearly run over her and I knew I had to get her out of there."
Thankfully, Peter and Kelly are wildlife volunteers with experience in rescuing koalas, so they knew the right way to rescue the poor little marsupial.
But without his usual rescue paraphernalia, he wasn't sure how he was going to transport the koala and get her to safety.
Advert
So he looked around and settled on a trusty supermarket trolley.
"I would've put her in the back of my car, but I had my dog with me," he said. "And I would've carried her, but then I saw the ALDI trolley and thought that would be a bit easier!
"She was very happy to be picked up and rescued.
"Male koalas can be a little more feisty, but she was relaxed in the trolley and was happy for me to move her around."
Advert
He said he only had to walk around 100 metres before he found bushland and it was a happy ending for everyone.
Peter didn't realise he had been filmed until he saw the viral TikTok popping up across the internet. He realises that without the proper context, seeing a bloke pushing a koala in a shopping trolley would be super weird.
It would probably make people overseas think this is a regular thing along with riding kangaroos to school.
We love a happy end to the story and it's lucky Peter and Kelly were there to help, but remember if you spot a koala in peril and you're not an expert to give WIRES a call and get some help.
Topics: Viral, News, Animals, Australia