Australia’s native wildlife is a favorite of folks from all over the world, in no small part due to koalas. Let’s be real, who doesn’t love koalas? They are basically marsupial teddy bears, and this Australian teenager had the blessing of getting to know one up-close. The lucky lad was the son of Meagan Pfitzner. He and his mother reside in Adelaide, South Australia.

This mother and joey happened to be out for a drink when the encounter took place. Mommy Koala drank away from the stream with the youngster on her back, shortly before it spots Meagan’s son.

As a token of his goodwill, Pfitzner’s son held a leaf in his fingers and reached out hoping the youngster might at least give a few nibbles. Perhaps the joey was a bit hungry this whole time and couldn’t wait for his mama to finish drinking?

The young Pfitzner was probably expecting the joey to just take the leaf and go back to its business. He probably wasn’t expecting to get way more than that from the curious youngster. Meagan definitely wasn’t prepared either.

Did your mom ever tell you not to accept food from strangers?

After a bit of coaxing and eye contact, the little one accepts his offering, shortly before climbing off its mamma’s back and scampering up the teenager’s arm. It’s way too cute for his mom filming the video to handle, and it’s definitely way too cute for us watching from our homes!

Meagan is rightfully cautious. Koalas are still wild animals, after all. The fact that they’re cute, fluffy and small doesn’t mean they can’t hurt you if they feel provoked. Anyone who’s owned a cat probably knows that.

“Careful the mom doesn’t attack you” said Meagan

Luckily, it seemed like mommy koala couldn’t care less about her joey’s antics.

Pregnancy and weaning are the only times mother koalas tend to be aggressive. It’s fortunate this youngster seems far past the weaning stage. The mother koala continued with her drink from the stream, without so much as glancing at the Pfitzners.

In fact, the young joey is so comfortable around his new friend, that the young Pftizner had to insist that the adorable little joey return to his mother. What’s truly amazing is how unexpected this behavior is from koalas, who typically conserve their energy for much of the day (up to 20 hours!) and don’t normally approach strangers.

Maybe he just had the right Koalafications?

“I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it.” – Steve Irwin

Koala populations are in decline and their species is vulnerable, with habitat destruction being the historical reason for their decline. The recent raging bushfires in Australia haven’t exactly helped either. Thankfully, Australia’s wildlife is popular worldwide, so we can expect that their fame will lead to some large-scale concern and conservation.

In addition, the Pftizner’s one of a kind encounter with the mother and her joey currently has over 7 million views on YouTube. Let’s hope this joey’s fame contributes to a better public consciousness for the safety of his species and the rest of Australia’s ecosystems.

Watch the video for yourself below, and make sure you’re prepared to handle this unlikely, but incredibly adorable friendship!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: [Meagan Pfitzner]