My time in Australia prompted silly stories of “drop bears,” vicious little koalas who would drop down onto unsuspecting travelers. In truth, koalas are a rather precious, threatened species. That’s likely why this old Australian man felt the need to rescue one from traffic. But not enough to keep him from telling the little guy off for doing something so dangerous. 

A video shows an older man in Australia braving a construction zone to wrangle and rescue a koala. Then he taught it a lesson

If any of the old Australian man’s words got through, this little koala might not resort to such safety oversights anytime soon. The video opens on an elderly Aussie making his way through a construction zone. His goal? Get to a koala hanging out next to the work site’s jersey barriers.

The Brisbane man lifts the koala as motorists wait patiently and watch the rescue unfold. Needless to say, the little marsupial wasn’t happy with its savior.

The koala fidgeted and flailed while the older Australian man made his way toward a treeline near the road, eliciting “awws” from the video-taker. Eventually, he set the little critter down and ushered it to travel the rest of the way off the blacktop on its own steam. Mission accomplished.

But the old man wasn’t done. Once the koala was safely across the road and seated in the vegetation, the man’s focus shifted from rescuer to pedagogy. 

The video plainly shows the man pointing at the koala as he talked to him, as if to say, “Don’t do that again!” This prompted a full-bodied cackle from the smartphone user. “You tell him, grandpa,” she said.

Australia’s 7 News caught up with the rescuer, 82-year-old Terry, to find out more about his interaction with the little critter. “I was telling him not to scratch because I’m trying to help him,” Terry told interviewers. “And the little mongrel just kept scratching.”