Operation Koala Kasualty: Makeshift hospital is set up in a school gymnasium to treat animals caught up in the devastating Australian bushfires
- Tens of thousands of koalas are estimated to have died in Australia’s bushfires
- More than 100 koalas are being treated by 150 volunteers at a makeshift hospital
- Ecologists fear that this disaster could wipe the endangered species off the map
A makeshift hospital in a school gymnasium.
Koalas lie swathed in bandages, traumatised and fighting for their lives after being caught up in the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged Australia.
These heart-rending pictures show Robert the Koala and others in the care of a team at Adelaide Koala Rescue at Paradise Primary School in the city.
Tender care: The look on this little chap’s face shows he’s happy to be in safe hands at Adelaide’s Paradise Primary. ‘We’ve had a few come in that were just singed all over,’ says Jane Brister, director of Adelaide Koala Rescue
Most of the koalas here were rescued from Cudlee Creek, near Adelaide, which was devastated by a blaze three weeks ago. More than 100 koalas are being treated by 150 volunteers.
Oh my poor feet: A good supply of eucalyptus leaves helps ease the pain
Koalas — marsupials, not bears — are typically slow-moving and their normal danger-avoidance strategy of curling into a ball at the top of a tree has left them perilously exposed to the flames.
Despite rescue efforts, tens of thousands of koalas are estimated to have died in the bushfires. Ecologists fear the disaster could wipe this much-loved endangered species off the map.
‘We’ve had a few come in that were just singed all over,’ says Jane Brister, director of Adelaide Koala Rescue.
‘It’s almost as though they were curled in a ball when the flames and the heat just went straight over the top of them. We’ve got team members who are traumatised. We are working round the clock to save as many as we can.’
It’s singed the fur off my ears! Don’t worry, mate, you are safe now and it will grow back. Koalas — marsupials, not bears — are typically slow-moving and their normal danger-avoidance strategy of curling into a ball at the top of a tree has left them perilously exposed to the flames
A washing basket makes a perfect hospital bed. Koalas lie swathed in bandages, traumatised and fighting for their lives after being caught up in the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged Australia
On Kangaroo Island, off the coast south of Adelaide, a catastrophic bushfire last week is believed to have killed more than half of the island’s 50,000 population of koalas. Two people were killed and 56 homes were razed.
Across New South Wales on the east coast, it is estimated that around 30 per cent of koalas have been killed and ten million acres of land destroyed by fire.
A firefighter is pictured giving a koala water, left, while vet Georgia Brown is pictured with Robert the Koala as he recovers, right. Despite rescue efforts, tens of thousands of koalas are estimated to have died in the bushfires
Chilling out: For this sedated koala, paws that were burned on scorched earth are cooled in soothing lotion. Most of the koalas here were rescued from Cudlee Creek, near Adelaide, which was devastated by a blaze three weeks ago
These heart-rending pictures show Robert the Koala and others in the care of a team at Adelaide Koala Rescue at Paradise Primary School in the city
All alone: An orphaned youngster is lucky to have survived. Across New South Wales on the east coast, it is estimated that around 30 per cent of koalas have been killed and ten million acres of land destroyed by fire