Several koalas who were injured in the Australian bushfires in 2019 have been re-released into their natural habitat. The marsupials were being treated at the Koala Hospital, located in the New South Wales town of Port Macquarie.
One of the famous koalas of the group is Anwen, a female whose photos went viral due to the severity of her burns, which covered about 90% of her body. She was the third patient admitted to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in October 2019.
Anwen is now joining several other koalas that have been transferred to the Lake Innes Nature Reserve in New South Wales. The reserve is located on the state's Tasman Sea coast some 235 kilometers north of Newcastle.
Atleast twenty-six koalas were returned to their natural habitat over a week. Hospital employees deliberately considered a mix of the koala's ages and sexes to make for a well-balanced community. The caretakers hope that the animals would breed and expand their population in the wild.
Lake Innes was also severely beaten up by the fire, but due to fortunate vast amounts of rainfall, the release of the animals happened sooner than planned.
Despite being battered with back-to-back adversities with the bushfires and COVID-19, Australia is at least happy to share some of this good news.
With the world currently being put on hold and tourism is bad for any country, support for the koalas can still be attained through the hospital's adopt-a-koala online program.
Tourism Australia has also put up an online portal filled with virtual tours, vacation planners, and custom Zoom backgrounds.
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The Recent Australian Bushfires
Australia was consumed by the worst wildfires seen in decades. Vast areas have been devastated since the bushfire season began in late July of last year. Approximately 28 people have died nationwide.
Fire season is typical in Australia, particularly with their summers being scorching and the air being dry. These conditions make it easy for fires to start and spread.
In New South Wales alone, more than 3,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales had been the hardest hit.
Flames have consumed whole towns, and residents across several states have lost their homes. The most substantial structural damage took place in New South Wales, the country's most populated state. About 1,588 homes have been destroyed, and over 650 houses damaged.
Humans can also be at fault with the bushfires. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with intentionally starting bushfires, and have taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related crimes since November.
About five hundred million animals have been affected by the fires across NSW, with millions most likely unable to survive. Ecologists from the University of Sydney claim that the total number of animals affected could be as high as one billion nationwide.
State and federal authorities worked hard to combat the fire crisis for months. Early in January, Victoria declared a state of disaster, and NSW declared a state of emergency. The state of Queensland also shortly declared a state of emergency in November.
