All eyes of the world are currently on Australia, where fires continue to ravage the country, destroying so much in their path. The ones most affected by the catastrophe, are the animals. Millions have been killed in the flames, and there are thousands more who’ve been traumatized, injured, and displaced from their homes. They desperately need help and thankfully, people are stepping up to help these poor creatures.
The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital Team has been hard at work helping injured animals. Although they are located about 2000 km from the fires, they definitely feel the impact caused by these blazes.
Many of the animals at the facility who are being cared for include possums, birds, koalas, and platypus.
“We’re able to offer a safe haven for wildlife needing help,” Terri Irwin said to Sunrise.
“We’re seeing all kinds of different injuries,” Robert Irwin added. “Obviously smoke inhalation and burns are happening frequently, but also animals are going into areas where they’re not supposed to be to escape the horrific conditions.”
He continued, “This means they’re getting hit by cars and are being attacked by domestic animals, so there’s a horrific knock on effect.”
There are many koalas in the care of these wildlife experts. However, sadly there are more than 25,000 koalas who’ve been lost in these fires.
“Koala instinct is to go up, as safety is in the top of the tree,” Terri explained.
"Being able to treat and help koalas is few and far between because they're basically incinerated"
Terri Irwin chats about the devastating impact of Australia's bushfires on our vulnerable koala population.
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Terri added, “Eucalyptus trees have so much oil that they ignite and actually explode in a fire. That means being able to treat and help koalas is few and far between because they’re basically incinerated. We’re just trying to do our best to help in any way we can, but it’s an absolutely horrific situation.”
