ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Koala Who Lost Mum In Bushfire Hugs Toy That Looks Just Like Her

Koala Who Lost Mum In Bushfire Hugs Toy That Looks Just Like Her

This is heartbreaking

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Footage has emerged showing a koala as she clutches a toy that resembles her mum, who she lost in a bushfire.

American vet Paul Ramos filmed the heartbreaking moment and said it reflected how devastating the bushfire crisis has been for small animals.

Mr Ramos uploaded the video to Instagram, writing: "This little girl unfortunately just lost her mother. People and Nature: Truly we are all connected and we can, and must do better.

"To the wildlife carers, local community and wildlife vets who will step in to take care of her and hopefully, release her back to the wild."

The vet flew from the US to help vets in Australia deal with the overwhelming amount of cases that stemmed from the bushfires.

This koala was found in Victoria's south-west, which has been absolutely ravaged by bushfires over the past few months. Paul says she instinctively reached out to grab the plush koala toy when she saw it being held, thinking it was her mum.

People couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it online, with one person writing: "Poor baby. Not fair. Not fair at all. A week ago she had her mom and now she has a teddy bear."

Another added: "OMG. This is heartbreaking. Cute koala. Stay strong."

An inquiry into the animal deaths from the Black Summer bushfires and drought estimates that as many as 10,000 koalas could have been killed in New South Wales. That's a third of the entire koala population of the state.

Newsflare

As a result, conservationists are calling for the animals to be listed as endangered so that systems can be put in place to get their population numbers up.

WWF conservation scientist Dr Stuart Blanch said: "It's brought forward a 2050 extinction projected timeline for most of the populations across the state by years."

Dr Kellie Leigh, from the Science for Wildlife charity, added: "Four different koala populations that we know of, which have hundreds in each population, have been impacted. Some have had 100 per cent of their habitat burnt out.

"[But] we just don't know what the full impact is yet, because we have to wait until it's safe to go in, to see what's survived."

Hopefully work can get started as the bushfire threat diminishes and we can save as many koala habitats as possible.

Featured Image Credit: Newsflare

Topics: News, Bushfires, Animals, Australia