Australian Cyclist Gives Thirsty Koala Sips From His Water Bottle

Australian cyclist Matt Sully was riding through the Adelaide Hills when he came across a thirsty koala and offered the critter a drink. Sully was riding with Bubba's Cycling Tours when he spotted the koala, which he named "Slurpy" for the way he guzzled from the Sully's plastic water bottle.

"It was so hot in them there hills today ... The Koalas were flagging us down to give em water," he captioned his Facebook post. "This little guy called "Slurpy" was so thirsty he emptied my entire bottle."

He said the experience was all about being in the right place at the right time. Sully got a pretty astounding video of his interaction with the parched koala, which would typically have hydrated itself with eucalyptus leaves but due to the current heatwave in Adelaide was all dried out.

The cyclist started by squirting little jets of water toward the animal to alert it to the water source and then, once trust was established, let the sleepy-looking marsupial take large slurps.

https://www.facebook.com/Mattsullygc/videos/10156113210606458/

Koalas are one of Australia's many iconic wildlife sights, but Australian cuisine has unique features, too — Vegemite, for instance, is one of the world's most iconic sandwich spreads.