Australian Hospital Receives Nearly $2 Million In Donations To Help Koalas Impacted By Bushfires

Dec 05, 2019 by apost team

Australians have been moved to help Koalas affected by the bushfires, and one hospital is overcome with gratitude.

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has been inundated with patients since the wildfires began, so the hospital set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for their treatment. Their goal was to raise $25,000, but the people were generous, and they donated more than $1.6 million.

Last week, the hospital wrote a letter of thanks to everyone all over the world for their donations. With the money, the hospital was able to purchase drinking stations for the koalas in areas that were affected by the fires.

“We are overwhelmed and humbled with gratitude for the support and care shown by people from all over the world,” the hospital wrote on its crowdfunding page. 

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The fires destroyed most of the eucalyptus trees, and they were the main source of water for the koalas. They were becoming dehydrated, but the automatic drinking stations will help them out tremendously.

The money is also going toward a breeding program. This is necessary because koalas are "functionally extinct," according to the Australian Koala Foundation. 

This month, one woman saved a koala bear, and the hospital wanted to give an update on the koala's condition. Toni Doherty spotted a koala moving toward danger as it walked in the direction of some burning trees.

She didn't wait to find out what would happen next, so she ran toward the koala, and wrapped the animal in her shirt. After she found a safe place, she set to work cooling the koala's burns. Then, she took him to the hospital. She named the Koala "Lewis" after one of her grandchildren.

Unfortunately, the hospital made a decision to put Lewis to sleep. The hospital updated its crowdfunding page by saying:

 "In Ellenborough Lewis's case, the burns did get worse and unfortunately would not have gotten better. The Koala Hospital's number one goal is animal welfare so it was on those grounds that this decision was made."

Bushfires have been burning through the koala habitat in recent months, and the hospital stated that 350 koalas have perished because of them. The first thing that the hospital staff does when a koala is brought to them is to rehydrate it. Then, they can examine them, and treat their burns.

If you care about the koalas of Australia, be sure to tell your friends about this story. If you have thoughts on this story, feel free to leave them here in the comments, and we will continue this discussion.