A British expat who moved to Australia six months ago feels “cheated” by the country because she has yet to see a koala in the wild.
Ella Wilson hiked to Tewantin National Park in Queensland because a local told her that more than 300 koalas live there.
But after walking for more than an hour and looking at “every tree,” all he found was a stiff neck.
The 21-year-old is now convinced they “don’t exist” and jokingly called the beloved animal’s existence in the wild a myth.
‘Australia is a scam. Don’t come,’ she said in a TikTok video.
Ella Wilson has branded Australia “a scam” after failing to spot any koalas since moving to Australia. She is now convinced that koalas “do not exist”
‘I was told where I am now that there are over 300 koalas living here.
‘I’ve been walking for over an hour looking in every tree… there’s nothing. I just don’t think they live here. Where are they? Absolutely nowhere.
‘I’ve been living in Australia for six months and I haven’t seen a single one. Literally the only reason I came here. It’s a scam and they don’t exist.’
She told FEMAIL she has only seen koalas at Brisbane Zoo and is determined to see one in the wild before leaving Australia.
“Wherever I go, I always hope to see one, but I haven’t yet,” he said.
The short video has since been viewed more than 95,000 times and some Australians said they too have only ever seen caged koalas in their lives.
‘I was born here and in 58 years I have never seen a wild one. So don’t feel so bad,” one wrote.
“I’ve been here 30 years and I’ve only seen one wild koala,” said another.
“If you think seeing a koala is difficult, try finding a platypus in the wild,” noted a third.
Although others decided to make fun of the expatriate.
“I bet they saw you,” one said.
Another said: “We were warned you were coming to Australia so we hid all the koalas.” But keep an eye out for falling bears.
One more added: “You won’t find koalas in the wild when there are downed bears nearby, thank your lucky stars you didn’t find any bears.”
In 2022, koalas were listed as endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.
According WWF, Koalas face a number of threats including deforestation, chlamydia disease, traffic strikes and dog attacks.
It is estimated that there are between 86,000 and 176,000 koalas in the wild.