A koala wandered into a Queensland holiday apartment and tried out several beds in a role reversal of the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", before curling up on its chosen one and having a snooze.

The three young women, who had rented the apartment on Magnetic Island, were unable to persuade it to move. They had first noticed the koala in a tree outside after checking in last Friday for a weekend break. They took several photographs, after which it descended on to their verandah and then joined them inside.

A wildlife ranger, Cliff Harman, said that the women had to convince him they were serious when they rang him. He told the Townsville Bulletin: "Someone had called up and said: 'This is not a prank, we have a koala sitting on a bed. What are we supposed to do?'" Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers captured the koala and released it into the wild.

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Mr Harman said the koala might have been searching for its favourite food, eucalyptus leaves, rather than a comfortable bolthole. "It's a big misconception that koalas are quite lazy. They are lazy in the day, but they are nocturnal animals."