Australia is seeing one of the worst wildfires this year. And the national emblem of Australia – koalas are getting affected. In the past few days, social media and news channels were filled with heart-wrenching stories of koalas getting burned due to the wildfires in Australia. But it isn’t just the koalas that are being affected. The wildfires are still active and even now many lizards and rodents are scurrying out of the bushes and ending up at the sides of the roads. They are getting rescued by animal groups or normal people and taken to the hospital. Many people fear that maybe there are more animals stuck in remote places where no rescue group has reached yet.
#Aussie #KoalaMittens for our injured Koalas #QLDandNSWfires pic.twitter.com/A8zv2DDwKL
— Teresa (@teresa_62) November 20, 2019
As wildfires continue to wreak havoc and bring entire habitats down to ruins, animal hospitals are feeling the pressure of this natural disaster. According to Nicole Blums, over $75,000 have gone to koala hospitals this year to rescue and take care of the large population of koalas that were burned this year. The Rescue Collective is a non-profit organization that is trying to help hospitals to cope with this tragedy and collect more funds so that the hospital expenses can be met. Blums, a member of the Rescue Collective, believes that the worst is yet to be discovered and they need to be prepared for it.
Read: Half Of A Koala Colony Wiped Out In A Catastrophic Australian Wildfire Hundreds More Feared Dead
However, the local population of Australia is chipping in and in a wonderful way too. The Rescue Collective, the non-profit group, was trying to get more supplies from the locals to the hospitals and wildlife rescue centers. What they got most surprised them. Many people are sewing cute hand-made mittens and pouches for the marsupials. The people of Australia care so much for their national emblem that they don’t mind investing time to make something for the koalas. Of course, they are coming to a lot of help. These mittens can keep the Koalas comfortable in the hospital environment and can help their burns to not get infected as these things could be used to properly cover their wounds. The people of Australia are really passionate about helping the koalas.
However, The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has mentioned that currently, they have a lot of wonderful knitted items for the marsupials. They have more than enough. However, they are still in need of more funds so that they can continue to keep treating these koalas and if possible, keep stock for more injured koalas that might arrive. Donations are a necessity to treat these animals suffering from terrible burns and dehydration.
Blum mentions that there might be massive wildlife losses occurring in remote areas where people are not being able to enter.
Read: Brave Woman Uses The Shirt Off Her Back to Rescue Burning Koala [Video]
The hospital staff mentions that they are really in need of funds and that any kind of support would be great. Plus, they are already preparing to help the rescuers as well since they would require medical attention, once the fires calm down.
Credit: IFAW/The Rescue Collective/Facebook & Vadim Nefedov