Cyclist shares his water bottle with a thirsty koala

ADELAIDE, Australia, March 2 (UPI) -- A cyclist in Australia stopped to give a thirsty koala a drink from his water bottle while out for a ride along a local highway.

Nick Lothian shared a photo of the encounter to Facebook, showing him sharing water from his bottle with the thirsty marsupial.

The koala can be seen resting on Lothian's front tire as its thirst is quenched by the friendly cyclist.

According to FB Newswire, Lothian and company stayed with the koala until animal services arrived. The animal was released back into the wild the next day after being given a clean bill of health.

In times of extreme heat koalas can seek water from strange sources, including one koala that drank from a storm drain during a record heat wave.