Koala is escorted across busy Queensland Highway in ‘heartwarming’ video

Video of a man escorting a koala across the Gold Coast Highway has gone viral, with many applauding the animal lover’s “heartwarming” actions.

Will Thornton and his wife Sarah were sitting on their Gold Coast balcony when they realized the local icon needed help and they went straight into action.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: Koala is escorted across the busy Queensland Highway in a ‘heartwarming’ video

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The Irishman said they noticed the koala coming out of a tree ahead of them at Burleigh Heads.

“He headed toward the highway,” Thornton said. “I rushed down to him to see what’s going on.”

The koala was “determined to come across the road,” he said.

“He was dying to cross the street, I assume his habitat was there.”

Thornton instinctively led the animal across the busy road.

“It all happened very quickly the way it happened,” he said.

Thornton was aware of the difficulties the koala might have crossing the road alone, so he even stopped traffic to clear the way.

“It’s such a busy stretch of road,” he said. “I was aware of that.”

“Sometimes it gets a bit spooky with the cars.”

The koala was lucky it wanted to cross during the day, Thornton said.

He said he had never seen koalas the day before, but he kept hearing about them being hit.

Thornton is proving to be a magnet for Australian wildlife, having dealt with both a carpet python and a blue-tongued lizard in recent months.

“I’m lucky to live in a part of the world that has so much crazy wildlife,” he said.

Katrina Boyle, Thornton’s mother-in-law, posted the video on her social media.

A friend crowned him “pure Aussie now”.

Thornton jokingly called the reaction “crazy”.

calls to action

While many have praised Thornton for acting kindly, some are calling for more to be done to ensure the safety of our wildlife.

“Time to install special tunnel bridges for fauna,” one person wrote online.

“We as a society need to provide crossings for wildlife when building/upgrading roads,” wrote another person. “We all know what we’re seeing here doesn’t happen to most bush creatures.”