In September 2019, bushfires simultaneously raged in various regions of Australia. Since then, its’ residents and wildlife have seen rough days. Firefighters and volunteers have been working 24-7 to contain the fires and save the animals. Now, Australian army soldiers are also helping out by using their rest periods to take care of injured koalas.
Koalas are considered vulnerable to extinction according to the IUCN Red List, while reports show that between 350 to a thousand koalas died in the Australian fires. The bushfires demolished over 6.3 million hectares of Australian forests and killed about half a billion animals, with a considerable number of them suffering from injuries and burns.
Recently, the 9th Brigade of the Australian Army published a photo on Facebook of their 16 Regiment Emergency Support Force soldiers carefully bottle-feeding koalas at the Cleland Wildlife Park. According to the post, the soldiers have been using their breaks from bushfire relief work to take care of koalas and construct climbing structures inside the park for all the recovering animals.
In addition to helping the wildlife center, the soldiers have also been clearing away burnt debris, offering emotional support to residents, hosting community benefits, and cleaning up residential properties.
The Australian army isn’t alone in this battle to save the animals. There are many stories about residents and even people around the world, contributing towards the cause.
Two teens drove around Kangaroo island and stuffed their car with as many koalas they could fit and dropped them off at an animal hospital. Unfortunately, as they drove around, nearly 60% of the koalas they saw had burned to death, while one-fifth of the koalas they saved that day died within 24 hours due to their injuries.
In an attempt to help these injured animals, thousands of crafters around the world have made koala mittens, kangaroo pouches, bird nests, and bat wraps. The Rescue Craft Collective distributes the knitted items to the hospitalized animals.
Thankfully, there has recently been an intense rainfall across Australia that extinguished a considerable amount of the bushfires. Officials say the downpour could put out the rest of the fires once and for all.
