Women Arrive Home To Find A Koala Lives There Now

Some intruders are cuter than others.

Two women in Australia returned from a trip this week to discover their home had been commandeered by an unexpected houseguest - a fluffy koala who'd apparently decided their place was now his.

By the time Michele Goodman and her partner Viki Haines arrived, the uninvited marsupial had already settled in and was clearly quite comfortable with his cozy new digs. In fact, he'd even found the best seat in the house.

"We walked in and saw this lovely, beautiful, fluffy koala sitting in the lounge. It looked exactly like he was watching TV," Goodman told radio station KOFM. "He was facing the TV, sitting in front of the heater."

Rather than scurry away upon realizing his home's previous occupants had come back to reclaim their place, the koala squatter didn't budge. He just stayed on the couch, making it known that that too was now his.

Fortunately, Goodman and Haines weren't upset by the imposition. Actually, they were pretty cool about it all. It's been chilly and rainy in their region recently, so they figured the koala probably was just looking for a place to warm up.

Still, they were sure to give him plenty of space - aside from the obligatory "this actually happened" photo or two.

Of course, seeing as how their couch really is no place for a koala - not to mention the pantry is presumably short on eucalyptus leaves - Goodman and Haines knew the little guy had to go eventually.

They called rescuers from the Hunter Koala Preservation Society who, an hour or so later, came and convinced him to move along - a happy ending to a very memorable stay.

Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0