Watch: Australian Koala Cools Off In Sprinkler

A koala was seen on video trying to cool off on a sprinkler as temperatures rose across Australia in a heatwave that was forecasted to last for five to six days.

Footage obtained by Reuters and taken on Sunday (November 29) showed the koala drinking from a sprinkler and sitting in it to cool off.

"We have lived on our farm for 10 years and it is very unusual behavior for a koala," said Christine Tully, who took the video. "I do think it's maybe an old koala though."

Temperatures in Queensland have been expected to breach 40 degrees over the next two days as a severe heatwave hits, with the Bureau of Meteorology to issue severe fire warnings in southeast Queensland and the Rural Fire Service in New South Wales issuing total fire bans in some regions.

Unusually prolonged and intense bushfires fueled by hotter and longer summers killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion animals across Australia last summer, as nearly 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of land was charred.