Koala drinks water from drain during record Australian heat

HOPE VALLEY, Australia, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A koala drank water from a running drain near a local road as it sought to cool down during Australia's record breaking heat on Sunday morning.

Paul Jansen posed the question "How much heat can a koala bear?" as he was able to capture the cuddly marsupial's drink on Facebook and told of its struggles as the country faced four consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees.

"After Adelaide's record breaking four consecutive days above 40 degrees [Celsius], a koala needed a drink this morning," he wrote. "It found a welcome relief via a 20 minute drink of fresh rain water, running in a drain."

Rae Campbell of Adelaid Koala and Wildlife Hospital told ABC News that the hospital treated several koalas during the heat wave.

"There were koalas coming in just all the time, it was wall-to-wall koalas," she said "We encourage people to leave a shallow container under trees so they can get a drink without wandering too far."

She said efforts like this are important as the hospital also saw a large number of dog attacks as Koala's looked to make their way down from their trees to find water.