Main image via Facebook
With all the news about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic going around, it makes it seem like the recent Australian bushfire crisis happened in another lifetime.
The Australian bushfire in fact, took place between late last year and early this year and unfortunately over a billion animals were estimated to have lost their lives in this tragedy.
As we know, many koalas also lost their lives in the scary wildfires but fortunately, those who were rescued have now been returned to their natural homes!
via GIPHY
According to reports, 13 koalas have been released back into their now-safe natural habitat in the Blue Mountains, months after being rescued.
A number of koalas were rescued by the wildlife conservation non-profit Science for Wildlife, in collaboration with San Diego Zoo Global, before their eucaplyptus trees were engulfed by flames. Since their rescue, these koalas have been living in Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
The non-profit group recently shared on Facebook that the first of the rescued koalas were released and this included a tiny joey!
“Great news!!” the post read. “We’ve released the first koalas back into the bush that we rescued from the bushfires in the Blue Mountains! Four adults and a bonus tiny joey in the pouch. They looked happy to be home! The rest will go tomorrow if all goes well.”
Since then, all the koalas rescued and in the care of the Taronga Zoo have been returned back to their homes in the Blue Mountains.
“While they have coped well in care we are delighted to finally send our koalas home,” said Dr Kellie Leigh, the executive director of Science for Wildlife. “We have been busy assessing the burnt area that we rescued them from, to establish when the conditions have improved enough that the trees can support them again.”
“The recent rains have helped and there is now plenty of new growth for them to eat, so the time is right,” she noted. “We will be radio-tracking them and keeping a close eye on them to make sure that they settle in OK.”
The reintroductions of these rescued koalas back into their natural habitat is just the first step in what conservationists know will a long-term effort to recover koala populations in the area.
Image via Science for Wildlife
This is definitely the good news we needed in these hard times!
We hope the koalas are happy and safe in their natural habitats!
Be sure to do your part in staying safe by staying home!
stay updated with the latest COVID-19 news here: https://en.syok.my/covid-19
Info via Unilad