bushfires

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

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:

Two Aussie teens, 19-year-old Micah and 18-year-old Caleb, have been named heroes for driving around and loading up their car with injured koalas, in Kangaroo Island. 

Storyful reported that the teens delivered the koalas to their neighbor, who has a permit to care for wildlife.

Micah Lovegrove, one of the heroic teens, decided to go on this impromptu rescue mission after witnessing a koala with nowhere to go, when his uncle's property burned down. 

In a video first posted on Reddit, you can see a car filled with poor, exhausted koalas. And in the background, an eerie sight of a road that is lined by blackened trees. 

Unsure of how many koalas they rescued, they assume it's around 20 and of that 20, six of the poor marsupials were orphaned and two of them were mothers with children.

Still, that's 20 more koalas saved. And we're beyond thankful to both Micah and Caleb. 

It is very important to mention that these koalas from Kangaroo Island were not taken to the mainland where they could be affected by Chlamydia and therefore unable to return back to their home on the Island. 

Chlamydia in koalas can cause blindness, bladder inflammation, infertility and death. As the island's koalas are isolated and free of the disease, its introduction would devastate the population.

"It's understandable and heartening that people want to rescue these animals, but unfortunately it will mean that those koalas can't be returned to the island because of the risk of contamination of the population there," said Brenton Grear, Department for Environment and Water bushfire recovery coordinator.

If anyone out there reads this and decided to drive and rescue koalas -- do not take them to the main land. "We ask that anyone on Kangaroo Island who finds injured wildlife call SAVEM on 0477 055 233 or email info@savem.org.au," says Grear.

Story via LADBible

It's hard to share such devastating news. 

It has been reported that nearly 500 million animals have perished since the start of the raging fires. 

500 million. That's half a billion. 

According to the University of Sydney, ecologists now estimate 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have tragically been lost since September. 

Entire species of plants and animals are endangered of being completely wiped out. 

If you're unsure just how insanely large this fire really is, The Guardian has published an interactive map stating the scale of the fire is 1.5 times the size of Belgium, just to give some perspective. 

We pray this horror ends soon without any more damage to the wildlife. 

Story via NZHerald