Stunned supermarket staff were greeted by an unusual customer who walked into their store this week.
A koala decided to descend on IGA Meeniyan in Victoria’s Gippsland region on Monday.
Heartwarming videos and photos captured the koala wandering the aisles, climbing shelves, crawling on newspapers and inspecting children’s toys.
In the end, the furry marsupial needed help from staff to get down from the top of a spice rack.
“He has a little resting area in the trees in the middle of town and he decided to walk around a little bit and ended up at our door and was very determined to get in,” IGA store owner Kaelene Shervall told the Today show on Tuesday.
‘We had great difficulty getting him out of there.
“The main thing was that he was just looking to climb somewhere and when he couldn’t get any higher up on the herb stand, that’s when I brought out the platform ladder and he decided he liked it better that way,” she said.
A koala decided to visit Meeniyan IGA, near the South Gippsland Highway in Victoria, last week.
Shop owner Kaelene Shervall said the koala was “very determined” to get into the IGA.
Staff managed to get the koala to safety by using the ladder, which had wheels, to slowly push it out of the tent and back into the wild.
The koala did not cause any harm, however Ms Shervall said she was worried about how it would get home.
Staff managed to get the koala away from traffic but it has not been seen since, adding that it is “…hoping he doesn’t come back.’
Photos of the store’s “exciting visitor” were uploaded to its social media page, where Australians instantly fell in love with the marsupial.
The koala did not cause any damage in the shop, but Ms Shervall said she had “great difficulty” trying to coax it back out of the front door.
“Oh my gosh, the poor little thing must have been a little scared but so cute,” one woman posted.
Another added: “I was just looking at the special offers,” wrote another.
A third joked: “Only in Meeniyan.”
(tags to translate)dailymail