Balls, stars, lights and - a koala: when the McCormicks family from Adelaide, Australia returned to their house after a short absence, they found an unexpected guest at their Christmas tree.
She was shocked, Amanda McCormick told the Guardian, "I thought, 'Is that a joke?" I thought one of my kids might have put a stuffed animal in it, but no, it was a living animal. "
The animal could probably steal through an open door into the living room, as ABC reported.
Daughter Taylah gave the female koala the name Daphne.
The 16-year-old told the Guardian that it got pretty tangled in the chain of lights.
Mother Amanda McCormick then called the Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue's koala rescuers to get help getting the animal outside.
But the employee on the aid organization's hotline initially believed it was a joke.
It apparently took a bit of persuasion before he believed "Amanda really had a koala in her Christmas tree," said co-founder Dee Hearne-Hellon.
But why did the animal get lost in the living room?
Koalas are very curious, says Hearne-Hellon: "When they see something they want to see, they just come over and have a look."
The koala rescuers freed Daphne and took her up a nearby tree.
Amanda McCormick, however, apparently has her doubts as to whether the animal really feels more comfortable there.
She joked to ABC, "It's probably trying to get back inside."
Icon: The mirror
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