Thirsty Koala Made Global Headlines After Begging Cyclists For Water As Fires Destroyed Its Home
WILD ANIMALS
Thirsty Koala Made Global Headlines After Begging Cyclists For Water As Fires Destroyed Its Home
It’s hard to predict when the next natural disaster strikes. No one is immune to it, including animals. The horrifying blazes in Australia have been destroying everything on their way, wiping out parks, forests, and entire towns. Over 8000 koalas and millions of other animals perished in the blaze.
One koala in Australia made the global news
Australia’s bushfire destroyed nearly a third of all koalas’ habitat. Many of those animals, who managed to get away from the fire, have no place to go and no food to eat.
One koala in Australia survived the fire but lost its home. The poor animal was desperate to get some water so it walked to the middle of the road in the hope to get some help.
The thirsty little thing got lucky when two cyclists were riding their bikes down the road. They stopped to help the animal move away from the road to save it from being hit by cars but they were surprised to see the koala racing towards them.
The animal was so dehydrated that it was willing to risk its own life. Once the koala reached their bikes, it began greedily drinking water from one of the cyclist’s water bottle.
Anna Heusler, who was the one to help the animal, recalled the heartwarming story, which quickly became a global sensation. She said:
We were descending from the hills back into the city when I came around the bend and the little guy was sitting in the middle of the road, so we stopped to shoo him off the road.
Heusler continued:
But he quickly walked up to me, climbed up to my bike and started drinking from the water bottles. Typically koalas don’t move a lot and I’ve never seen one move that fast.
Anna gave the koala all of her water and stopped other cyclists to ask them to give their water to the thirty animal before making sure it safely got away from the road after quenching its thirst.
Other animals helped koalas, too
Dogs are not only humans’ best friends but koalas’, too. The four-legged heroes were employed to save their furry pals from the blaze in the land Down Under.
According to TATE Animal Training Enterprises, their well-trained dogs saved dozens of koalas. They sniffed the animals’ fur to locate their whereabouts.
Why it’s so important to save koalas?
- they can become extinct as species;
- they are extremely important to Australian wildlife;
- they play a key role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem;
- they are super cute.
Even though the cruel blaze wipped out a massive chunk of koalas’ population, we should help those animals who managed to survive. They need our care and protection now more than ever. After all the fires will be put down, Australia will start a new chapter. But for now, all we have is hope.
