British expat’s wild claim about Australia since moving six months ago: ‘They’re scamming us, do not come’

A British expat who moved to Australia six months ago feels as though she’s been ‘scammed’ because she’s still never seen a koala in the wild.

Ella Wilson went hiking in Tewantin National Park in Queensland after a local told her it’s home to more than 300 koalas.

But after walking for more than an hour and looking up at ‘every single tree’ all she experienced was a stiff neck. 

The 21-year-old is now convinced koalas ‘don’t exist’ and jokingly dubbed the beloved animal’s existence in the wild a myth.

‘Australia is a scam. Do not come,’ she said in a TikTok video. 

Ella Wilson has dubbed Australia as ‘a scam’ after failing to spot any koalas since moving Down Under. She is now convinced koalas ‘don’t exist’

‘I was told in this location I’m in right now that there’s over 300 koalas that live here. 

‘I’ve been walking for over an hour looking in every single tree.. there’s nothing. I just don’t believe they live here. Where are they at? Absolutely nowhere. 

‘I’ve been living in Australia for six months now and I’ve not seen a single one. Literally the only reason I came here. It’s a scam and they don’t exist.’

Ella told FEMAIL she’s only seen koalas at Brisbane Zoo and is determined to see one in the wild before she leaves Australia. 

‘Wherever I go I’m always hoping to see one but haven’t yet,’ she said.  

The short video has since been viewed more than 95,000 times and some Aussies said they too have only seen caged koalas.

‘I was born here, and in 58 years, I’ve never seen a wild one. So don’t feel too bad,’ one wrote. 

‘I’ve been here 30 years and I’ve only seen one wild koala,’ another said. 

‘You think seeing a koala is hard, try finding a platypus in the wild,’ a third pointed out. 

Though others decided to poke fun at the expat. 

‘Bet they saw you,’ one said.

Another said: ‘We were warned you were coming to Australia so we hid all the koalas. Be on the lookout for drop bears though.’

One more added: ‘You won’t find koalas in their natural habitat when drop bears are around, thank your lucky stars you didn’t encounter a drop bear.’

In 2022 koalas were listed as endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. 

According to WWF, koalas face a number of threats including deforestation, chlamydia, traffic strikes and dog attacks.

It’s estimated there’s between 86,000 and 176,000 koalas in the wild.