australia

We're melting! It's as if someone combined a kangaroo, koala, sloth, monkey, and bear, and thus -- the tree kangaroo was born! 

This animal can be founds in the rain forests of Australia, West Papua, and Papua New Guinea. Often called by local, "ghost of the forest," the elusive tree kangaroo. Tree kangaroos are marsupials so just like a kangaroo, they carry their offsprings in their pouch. The only difference is that they were built for climbing trees. 

They are peaceful animals who enjoy sleeping and eating a herbivore diet! Oh, and they're cute as heck. 

Check out what this adorable looks like below: 

These cute little marsupials are pretty rare and only live on one specific island off the Australian coast. 

But the real reason everyone's so obsessed with them? 

Well, they have an extremely infectious grin - and we can't get enough.

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and in perfect timing in case you needed reminding of the good in the world, comes this good news from Australia. 

Following the devastating bushfires of the 2019-2020 "Black Summer", during which more than 12.6 million hectares of land were scorched, 33 lives were lost and more than 1 billion were animals killed in the blazes, the positive headlines are focusing on the Koalas.     

One of the areas that were hit the hardest was the koala habitats in the mid-north coast region of NSW. According to Federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, up to 30% of koalas in this region were killed during the bushfires and many more were hospitalized.

Now, five months on, the endangered critters are finally returning home. 

26 koalas will be released over the next few days, with habitats having recovered much earlier than expected due to significant rainfall in the mid-north coast area.

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. 

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!

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!