Unbearably cute but totally unkoalified
December 19, 2016 11:18 PM   Subscribe

It turns out this Koala covered in burrs just needed a hug. Or a very cautious brushing from a distance while wearing motorcycle gloves, anyway. Yes, there's video. (No, it's not in landscape orientation.)
posted by lollusc (29 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
I love every single thing about this.

It is perfect.
posted by Combat Wombat at 11:41 PM on December 19, 2016 [13 favorites]


I would happily trade the flock of Canada geese at the local pond for a few koalas. Alas, the sub-freezing temps and no eucalypti trees make this a fantasy.
posted by TrishaU at 12:05 AM on December 20, 2016


I mostly liked that the dude is called Bruce. It's like he was cast in this news story as the stereotypical Australian.
posted by lollusc at 12:32 AM on December 20, 2016 [12 favorites]


The amazing caption for the video: "Burr covered koala comes up on my porch. He is very knarkie and slaps away a bowl of water But then allows me to brush burrs off him. Now we are good mates"
posted by en forme de poire at 12:58 AM on December 20, 2016 [21 favorites]


How much can a koala burr?
posted by quinndexter at 1:00 AM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


To be fair, the default koala expression seems very glum.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:23 AM on December 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Mr. Atkinson should be the rightful King of England, because he now holds an ex-koala-burr.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 2:29 AM on December 20, 2016 [99 favorites]


You know, as an Australian of long standing (like my whole life, 49.25 years) I have met koalas, emus, wombats, dingos, wallabies, pademelon, cassowaries, quolls (but sadly no quokkas yet). I have never met a man called Bruce, (my primary school librarian was Sheila... Sheika Schmidt - she introduced me to the the Thorn Birds at a very innocent 12 - I now wonder what was she thinking?) but not one Bruce. I feel like I've missed out.
posted by b33j at 3:30 AM on December 20, 2016 [6 favorites]


Oh, also Bruce's forethought in using motorbike glove was inspired. Sure, koalas are mostly placid (stoned) but those claws get them up smooth barked eucalyptus trees - you wouldn't want a koala to climb you, for sure.
posted by b33j at 3:32 AM on December 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


Ohhh, this is so sweet! That koala looked so blissed out :D
posted by the thought-fox at 3:45 AM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


"A Victorian man has videoed the moment he made friends with a wild koala" painted the wrong picture in my head and I was a little disappointed this wasn't Steampunk
posted by Molesome at 3:49 AM on December 20, 2016 [17 favorites]


Yay!
posted by Glinn at 4:44 AM on December 20, 2016


I wish my dog was that cooperative at brushing time.
posted by chaoticgood at 5:10 AM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Koala thirst

There were some fires around here and one morning I let the dog out and there is this totally burned black bear trying to remove the insulated cap from the well. Dog had treed bears before and burned bear isn't having it. Swat!

I had a 30 gallon pot and I put the hose in it and dog inside and sat on the steps. I had a 102 fever so the rational thing to do when bear knocked it over was to right it and scold the bear. This worked. Neighbors say I was unresponsive and hosing it and too close to shoot.

I think it was two days. My hands were sticky and I'd left a big tin of Bag Balm out there. Most of it was gone. The belly was the worst. Did I? I think I did rub a bear belly with antiseptic liniment. It had teats and I think it was on it's back?

I hope it lived.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 5:36 AM on December 20, 2016 [11 favorites]


"A Victorian man has videoed the moment he made friends with a wild koala" painted the wrong picture in my head and I was a little disappointed this wasn't Steampunk
posted by Molesome at 6:49 AM on December 20 [7 favorites −] [!]


Me too.
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:44 AM on December 20, 2016


May I point you in the general direction of r/HumansBeingBros.
posted by INFJ at 6:05 AM on December 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


This is basically my dog after she runs into the bushes cept she dgaf and you ain't getting that brush near her
posted by Panthalassa at 6:42 AM on December 20, 2016


Were they drop burrs?
posted by Sys Rq at 7:43 AM on December 20, 2016 [13 favorites]


No. This might change in January but the government doesn't drop bears on sick people just yet.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:35 AM on December 20, 2016


"Within seconds it decided, 'this is alright, I'll have more of this'."
posted by gottabefunky at 10:24 AM on December 20, 2016


Super cute!

My dog loooooves to be brushed. To be brushed is to be adored and he loves all of the adoring.

Meaning of knarkie?
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:50 AM on December 20, 2016


I think usually spelled "narky," meaning (I think) annoyed, peevish, etc.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:17 AM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Loved this so much, and she looked so relaxed afterward, in my non-professional opinion. What a great interaction between the two!
posted by Pocahontas at 11:42 AM on December 20, 2016


snarky without the s?
posted by annsunny at 11:43 AM on December 20, 2016


I've held a koala for a picture, and I will say that even with me supporting most of its weight, the claws, casually hanging from my shoulder, were definitely not a joke. My shirt (and myself if we are being honest) also smelled of koala for several washings.
posted by ethansr at 1:53 PM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Loved this so much, and she looked so relaxed afterward, in my non-professional opinion. What a great interaction between the two!


Koalas always look relaxed. They are basically stoned the whole time, which I think explains a lot of this story.
posted by lollusc at 4:58 PM on December 20, 2016


I had never looked closely at ones paws before. Those are some serious toes and claws. I no longer wish to be climbed by a koala.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:49 PM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Down the derail hole:

As a Victorian myself, I can confirm that the word is 'narky', and it is in irregular colloquial use here. It roughly equates to 'annoyed' or 'cranky', and is much older than 'snarky' as suggested above - I remember my parents saying "I'm a bit narky about that" and the like when I was a kid in the early 80s. Gets a bit of use down the pub, too ("Christ, I'm a bit fuckin' narky about that!", "Your mate Jono's a narky bugger, what's going on?")

Anyway, carry on...
posted by prismatic7 at 6:17 PM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah Google's define link for narky has usage going back to the beginning of the 20th C, but snarky much more recent. For me, snarky has to involve talking, so a koala could not be snarky. But narky can just be grumpiness in general. Google claims that's narky is originally UK slang.
posted by lollusc at 6:38 PM on December 20, 2016


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