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 like she has been ‘ripped off’ by the country because she has never seen a koala in the wild.

Ella Wilson went hiking in Queensland’s Tewantin National Park because a local resident told her there were more than 300 koalas living there.

But after walking for over an hour and looking at “every tree,” she just walked away with 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 not seeing a single koala since moving Down Under. She is now convinced that koalas ‘don’t exist’

‘Where I am now, I was told that there are more than 300 koalas living here.

‘I’ve been walking for more than an hour and looking in every tree. There is nothing. I just don’t believe they live here. where are they? Absolutely nowhere.

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

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

“Wherever I go I always hope to see one, but that hasn’t happened yet,” she said.

The short video has since been viewed more than 95,000 times, with some Australians saying they too have only seen caged koalas in their lives.

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

“I’ve lived here for 30 years and have only seen one wild koala,” said another.

“If you think it’s hard to see a koala, try finding a platypus in the wild,” a third commented.

Although others decided to make fun of the expat.

“I bet they saw you,” someone said.

Another said: ‘We were warned you were coming to Australia so we hid all the koalas. Just be careful of drop bears.’

Another added: ‘You won’t find koalas in their natural habitat if there are drop bears around. Thank your lucky stars you didn’t encounter a licorice 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 disease, traffic strikes and dog attacks.

It is estimated that there are between 86,000 and 176,000 koalas in the wild.