Australia is home to the adorable Koala Bear but they aren't the only cute animals that hang around the Outback.
We have collected some of the cutest ones to cheer you up while you're at home.
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Three escaped baboons were seen on the grounds around Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred hospital on Tuesday, prompting mass hysteria in the area. New South Wales Police were called to the scene, where the primates were eventually corralled by officers and wildlife handlers.
The hilarious incident unfolded when the male (the leader of the troop) was just about to undergo a vasectomy when he and his loyal troop members — who New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard told The Daily Telegraph are his wives — made the great escape.
Several shocked witnesses called into local radio stations, sharing details on the sighting: "Mate, I'm dead set serious. I'm at RPA, I'm six floors up and I was just having a gaze out at the carpark … and there were three baboons in the carpark," the caller said. "I'm dead set serious. They even had shiny red bottoms."
Off the coast of Australia, near Lady Elliot Island, the world's only known pink manta ray has once again been spotted!
Nicknamed "Inspector Clouseau," after the the main character of the classic "The Pink Panther," was photographed by Kristian Laine.
According to Laine, she was original confused when seeing the pink manta, believing the ray's vibrant hue was due to a camera malfunction. Laine told Australian Geographic, "I was in the middle of a manta train with seven other mantas. I was looking through my viewfinder and was thinking it's weird that one of the mantas looks pink. I actually thought my strobes were playing up, making the manta look pink."
When she returned to land, Laine discovered that the sighting was authentic, and later took to Instagram to share photos of the "amazing and absolutely unforgettable encounter."
The last, and first, time the rare manta ray was spotted was in 2015, by diving instructor Ryan Jeffery off Lady Elliot Island (once again).
The pink coloring on this manta ray remains a mystery. Project Manta's Asia Armstrong said, "The working theory is that it is just a different and very unique expression of the melanin, but that is still to be confirmed."
The brand new "Bushfire Heroes" figure was created for two major reasons- honoring those heroic firefighters fighting against the devastating bushfires in Australia but also as part of a fundraiser campaign. Pre-orders for the figurine are now open, with delivery expected in June. What a cute figurine and an awesome initiative!
Both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
Three Snowy Mountain Koalas, who were rescued from the Australia wildfire crisis, have been named after American firefighters who were tragically killed in the region.
Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust Koala Sanctuary have named the koalas, and the trio are now in the temporary care of Australian National University (ANU).
Dr Karen Ford, an ANU researcher and who is running the makeshift hospital at ANU, said in a university statement, "We have 11 koalas at ANU that have come in from the various fire grounds in the region.They just keep arriving. There is nowhere else that has the facilities to hold these animals or this many at the moment."
Ford also mentioned that a couple of the koalas are being treated for burns, while the others are "quite skinny" from malnutrition, due to their habitats being completely burnt.
Koalas are known to breed so slowly that it could take 100 years for the population to rebuild — so saving just one is crucial. That is why the koalas have been a central focus of relief efforts as the blaze spreads across the region.
Story via CBS News
Owen Colley is a six-year-old boy from Massachusetts who, according to his parents: "Was upset by the Australian bushfires so we wanted to provide an outlet for him to feel like he could do something to help. He's a huge animal lover and has been making clay characters for a while so together we thought out the clay koalas and offered it to friends and family as a "thank you" for donations for bushfire affected animals. Then his gran shared it with the local paper, so here we are...
Owen and his parents created a page on GoFundMe called "Owen's Australian Creature Rescue" through which they have raised more than 277,000$ so far.
Well done, Owen!
With over a billion animals who have lost their lives, prayers were definitely answered as the rain landed on many of the fire fronts.
This video from the Symbio Wildlife Park shows how Kangaroos, wombat and Koalas rejoice the arrival of rain providing the much welcome relief from the harsh Australian Summer.
Much needed heavy rains have finally come to put out the horrific Australia bushfires. However, as anyone who lives in an area that's often dealing with intense fires, once the rain comes -- it comes hard. Due to the fires burning away so much, there is nothing in the rains path to help block it from forming mudslides and flooding like no other.
As a result, this rainfall has created flooding so bad, the Australian Reptile Park claims they haven't seen such a thing in over 15 years. And due to the waters reaching high level, Australia has essentially become a Disneyland playground for alligators. Australian Reptile Park have stationed keepers at their Alligator Lagoon to monitor the water levels, which were rising beyond the fence line.
Here is some footage they captured out around the park.
We'll take any little moment of happiest there is in this world! When OJ, the pup, and his family, returned home after safely evacuating from the Australia bushfires, they came across a house of rubble.
Amongst that rubble, there happened to be one survivor and OJ couldn't be more happy to see his favorite toy!
Thank you to WeRateDogs for sharing such a beautiful moment with the world.
Here is a mini-wholesome thread about OJ:
Art can be extremely powerful, in sending a message to the world.
Artists from all over the world have united in spreading awareness of devastating fires in Australia, and with their art reaching thousands, are able to not only spread awareness but to also help bring in even more donations.
Thank you to all the artists for expressing their pain in a way that contributes.
After drought took their water and bushfire took their food, the New South Wales Minister for Energy and Environment announced the "Operation Rock Wallaby"- airdropping food and water to some key colonies across the continent. Bless you, all!
The Rescue Collective organization in Australia is going through some tough weeks since the devastating fires started in Australia. Yesterday, they posted a Survivor update: "it's been a tough week. So so so much loss. So much still to lose. Despite the heartache we are feeling as a country, we need to celebrate the small wins. Warm your heart with photos from some of the survivors you are supporting". These people are our heroes!
Aussie artist named Sharnia-Mae Sturm shared a touching illustration on New Year's Eve as news of Australia's bushfire crisis broke around the world. She came up with the idea while thinking about all the animals that have passed away and suddenly realized they'd all be safe in the loving arms of Steve Irwin. After all, Steve and his family were always ones to stand by the animals and are continuing his legacy by saving over 90,000 animals so far. People were moved by the cartoon with many saying it brought them to tears.
