Ellenborough Lewis The Koala Rescued From A Bushfire Has Sadly Been Put Down

Ellenborough Lewis the koala has captured the world's attention ever since he was rescued from a bushfire near Port Macquarie, New South Wales, but sadly it has been announced that he had to be put down.

In devastating post on Facebook, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital wrote: "Today we made the decision to put Ellenborough Lewis to sleep.

"We placed him under general anaesthesia this morning to assess his burns injuries and change the bandages.

"We recently posted that 'burns injuries can get worse before they get better'. In Ellenborough Lewis's case, the burns did get worse, and unfortunately would not have gotten better.

"The Koala Hospital's number one goal is animal welfare, so it was on those grounds that this decision was made. We thank you for your ongoing support."

He first came to the public's attention when a woman known only as Toni whipped the shirt off her back and carried him from the bushfires to safety, before takng him to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

People in Australia and across the globe have been wishing him well as he recovered from horrific burns to his body.

RIP Ellenborough Lewis.

Topics: News, 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