He's not on any invite list but the unauthorised cousin of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games mascot Borobi has crashed the party.
Stickers featuring a lookalike to the Games' blue koala have popped up all over the Gold Coast in recent days in an attempt to highlight the plight of the city's wild koala populations.
Named 'Sorrowbe', the green version of the mascot appears on the sticker climbing a light pole alongside the slogan "no tree".
Grave fears are held by conservationists for koala populations on the Gold Coast, especially in the city's fast-developing northern suburbs.
The Coomera Conservation Group has been petitioning the state government to form a koala reserve in the area where residential and commercial development is threatening the koalas' habitat.
The authors of the Sorrowbe campaign remain anonymous, seemingly to avoid any penalties for infringing on Games organisers' copyright but have asked what the legacies of the two cartoon koalas will be for their wild kin.
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) said it was aware of the rogue relative to its official mascot, and took "brand protection" very seriously.
GOLDOC chief executive Mark Peters said he wasn't worried about the ambush marketing campaign, and invited the creator to discuss with them how Borobi is being used to help Gold Coast koalas.
"We actually provided $50,000 in advance to the Currumbin Hospital Foundation because they do fantastic work in that area," Mr Peters said.
"We're working with them on other projects with the money that comes from the sales of Borobi plush toys.
"We love the koalas. None of us want to see them being challenged in terms of their existence ... we see Borobi the koala as a positive thing for everyone."
Mr Peters said he encouraged the creators of the 'Sorrowbe' campaign to discuss with GOLDOC how to work with them to help the city's koalas.
Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said GOLDOC would be within their rights to take any actions they felt necessary if there were copyright issues.
"If people have issues that are important to this area, by all means they should be raising that with the relevant levels of government ... but let's not taint the Games with any other issues," Ms D'Ath said.
Australian Associated Press
