Wonnie the koala found in kitchen of Woronora Heights home

The koala, who is believed to be six to eight years old, was identified through an ear tag and microchip implant he was given when he first came to attention at Woronora in 2021.

Myree Tetley discovered Wonnie about 7am on Sunday in her Whimbrel Place home. She had left the door open for her two dogs and one of them had Wonnie bailed up.

Mrs Tetley called her son Shannon, who was driving home from a mate's farm, and said, "You'll never believe this, but there's a koala in the kitchen".

Shannon replied, "Are you sure it's a koala, mum, and not a possum?"

She was sure, but he wasn't convinced until he saw for himself. By then, Wonnie had made his way into the bathroom and was huddled in a corner.

Wonnie was picked up by a National Parks and Wildlife Service officer and WIRES volunteer.

Michelle Wallis, koala and bat co-ordinator for WIRES south branch, said Wonnie was "a very stressy koala" and didn't handle the attention very well.

Ms Wallis said they were considering whether to release him quickly or keep him in care for a short time while he was treated for inflammation of an eye and possible other problems.

In 2021, WIRES rescued Wonnie from a site in Woronora after hundreds of people descended on it after seeing social media posts

Wonnie was found to have injuries consistent with a recent earlier report of a koala being hit by a car at Loftus. Once he had recovered, he was released back into nearby bushland.

A year later, WIRES received a report of a koala running on the bike track at Waratah Park, Sutherland. Wonnie was found in a tree nearby.

This time, Wonnie was released him into Royal National Park because it appeared he was heading towards it.

Since then, Wonnie has re-crossed the six-lane F6 Princes Highway to Woronora Heights.

Ms Wallis said koalas were on the move during the breeding season and motorists should keep watch on roads such as Princes Highway and Heathcote Road, adjoining bushland.

"There have been five koalas hit on Heathcote Road in just over a month," she said.

"Two were killed near the Woronora River Bridge and three were hit in the Sandy Point area, including a mother with a joey. Sadly, the mother died.

"The critical times are a couple of hours before daw and a similar period after dusk. Unless we get traffic to slow down, we are going to lose a lot more koalas."