Koala Burned By Bushfire Gets Its First Drink After Being Rescued

There have been loads of heartbreaking images and videos that have come from the devastating bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland.

Some people have lost loved ones, their beloved pets, or their homes and sheds.

One of the videos that has gone absolutely viral shows a burned koala taking its first sip of water after managing to survive through the inferno.

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital shared the video on Facebook, where it has attracted thousands of likes, shares and comments.

The hospital wrote: "Bellangry State Forest (SF) Kate on the day she was found in burnt out country by Darrel.

"He may have got the sex wrong, but he did the right thing by gently capturing her using a big blanket and bringing her to us.

"Bellangry SF Kate has burns to hands, feet, face and full singeing of her body. She arrived very dehydrated and is now in the five star service burns ward at the Koala Hospital."

The poor koala looks exhausted and so tired after living through what could only be described as a nightmare. Sadly, the same story can't be said for hundreds of other koalas in the area.

"We think most of the animals were incinerated - it's like a cremation," Koala Conservation Australia president Sue Ashton told the Sydney Morning Herald. "They have been burnt to ashes in the trees."

The koalas in this region are described as some of the most genetically diverse in the whole country.

Estimates vary at the moment as teams haven't been able to inspect all the affected areas, but experts reckon there are as many as 350 dead koalas in the area.

The hospital's clinical director Cheyne Flanagan told the Daily Telegraph: "The fires are at such a high intensity, we're not finding any bodies. They're completely incinerated to ash.

Gofundme/Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

"I don't know if the koala population will ever recover, there's still three months of summer still to go."

A fundraiser has been set up to help the hospital deal with the influx of injured koalas as well as the road ahead.

Incredibly, in just a few days, more than $500,000 has been donated; well above the $25,000 target.

Wendy Afford started the fundraiser and wrote: "One way to help surviving koalas and other wildlife is to provide access to water to reduce further deaths from dehydration."

Hopefully, other koalas out there can be rescued like Kate.

Topics: Community, Animals, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie