Koala Swims To Canoe, Hangs Out With People (VIDEOS)

Most people think of koalas as arboreal creatures, but based on this footage, it looks like they aren't bad swimmers, either.

In this video, uploaded by YouTube user "peterando06," a koala swims out to a twin canoe and is taken aboard by one of the passengers during an excursion along Australia's Gold Coast.

SCROLL FOR MORE VIDEO

It almost goes without saying that these people shouldn't have picked the koala out the water. Cute as they are, koalas are wild animals and could attack people when provoked. (Just look at those claws!)

Chances are, if the koala made it out to the boat, it could make it back to shore on its own.

However, Julie Elliot, who took the video, told Nine News her friends didn't know what else to do.

"We were thinking it was going to drown so my mate behind me just grabbed him and put him straight in the boat," she told the news organization.

Native to Australia, koalas are listed as threatened species that face danger from habitat destruction. The Australian Koala Foundation, a leading conservation and advocacy group, cites the loss of eucalyptus trees, whose leaves make up the koala's primary diet, as a leading threat to the animal's wellbeing.

WATCH: