Overheated South Australian koala gets some relief from the heat

An overheated South Australian koala has been filmed taking part in an age-old Australian backyard tradition – lying under the sprinkler on a searing summer day.

With Adelaide temperatures in the thirties on Tuesday, the stressed-out koala was soothed by Steven Wiltshire, who positioned a sprinkler so that it would reach the lower branches of a nearby tree.

"I figured he was probably hot and dehydrated so I set up one of my lawn sprinklers that hasn't been used in forever, such that water hit the lower reaches of the tree," Mr Wiltshire told Mashable.

When he later returned to the tree, Mr Wiltshire noticed the koala had come down to a lower branch and filmed it lounging.

By the morning, the koala had moved on.

Several videos of overheated, dehydrated South Australian koalas have gone viral this summer.

Among them, a mother and her baby koala gratefully accepting water from residents in Adelaide and a parched koala graciously accepting the end of a woman's house, so that he could have a drink.