Wet Koala
About
Wet Koala refers to a viral image of a wet koala bear photoshopped to appear angry and with its jaw wide open, revealing a set of sharp teeth. The photoshop, as well as an image macro using it, was initially circulated 2012 as people believed it was authentic, resurfacing numerous time over the next decade.
Origin
On January 30th, 2009, Flickr[1][2] user Oz_drdolittle uploaded several wildlife photographs, including two images of wet koala bears (shown below, left and right).
In July 2012, a photoshopped version of the wet koala image (above, right) began spreading on social media. Although the original post is unknown, early examples of users sharing it can be seen on Twitter[3] on July 12th and Reddit[4] on July 15th.
Spread
On July 16th, 2012, BuzzFeed[6] shared the image in a post titled "This Is What A Wet Koala Looks Like." On July 26th, the Huffington Post[5] published an article on the image going viral, explaining it to be a photoshop and providing a link to a viral Facebook post about it which is no longer available.
People continued to post the photoshopped wet koala image on social media over the course of the next nine years, many still unaware of it being a photoshop or ignoring that fact. Around 2015, an image macro featuring text reading, "Have you guys ever seen a wet koala… It is the scariest thing ever. Like ever" started spreading online (shown below).
On April 15th, 2015, internet personality Logan Paul tweeted[8] the photoshop using the same text, garnering over 880 likes and 290 retweets six years (shown below). On March 9th, 2016, The Sun[7] published a story explaining what "wet koala" means.
The post frequently sees success on Facebook.[12][13] For example, on April 16th, 2020, Facebook[11] page Sarcastic Mama posted the image macro, garnering over 2,700 shares in a year.
Wet Sloth
On October 16th of that year, Twitter[9] user @RachelFeltman posted an image of a threatening looking wet sloth, garnering over 54,000 likes and 8,600 retweets in five months (shown below, left). On October 18th, Twitter[10] user @The_Gam1ng_Rex commented, "What would you rather deal with a wet sloth or a wet koala?" along with images of both (shown below, right).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] flickr – wet koala 3
[2] flickr – Wet Koala 4
[3] Twitter – Don't piss off a wet Koala. #damn #kcco. #wtf
[4] Reddit – Wet koalas are not as cute as dry ones.
[5] Huffington Post – Wet Koala Photoshop: Hoax Picture Of Scary Marsupial Goes Viral
[6] Buzzfeed – This Is What A Wet Koala Looks Like
[7] The Sun – DON'T DO IT What does wet koala mean? Here’s why you should NEVER Google it
[8] Twitter – Have you guys ever seen a wet koala… It is the scariest thing ever. Like ever
[9] Twitter – Nothing more emotionally confusing than a wet sloth
[10] Twitter – What would you rather deal with a wet sloth or a wet koala?
[11] Facebook – Sarcastic Mama
[12] Facebook – Meanwhile in Australia
[13] Facebook – Ghost in the Word
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Top Comments
GenericFellow24
Mar 15, 2021 at 05:22PM EDT
Icecane
Mar 15, 2021 at 05:36PM EDT