Flash Floods Prompt Koala Rescue At Australian Zoo As Wildfires Continue To Blaze

Jan 22, 2020 by apost team

It has been a really tough year for animals in Australia. Nature conservation scientists estimate that the wildfire season will have claimed the lives of a billion animals by the time firefighters are able to contain all the blazes, reports The Guardian. While the majority are wildlife species, livestock and pets have also been affected by the massive bush fires.

It so happens that not even animals in captivity are safe from the wild climate conditions in Australia. A video that has been making the rounds on social media shows the staff of the Australian Reptile Park fending off wild alligators that came very close to devouring a group of koalas during a flash flood.

The Australian Reptile Park is located in the city of Somersby, which is about an hour north of the Sydney metropolitan area. This zoo specializes in native Australian species, and the habitats are designed to resemble natural ecosystems as much as possible.

The directors and staff members at the zoo have been keeping a close eye on the status of the wildfires just in case they had to evacuate the animals in an emergency. One particular fire seemed to be closing in; it was about five miles away, but then a series of rainstorms unexpectedly drenched the region.

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While the torrential rain has been a blessing for firefighters, it also caused flash flooding in many parts of Australia. At this zoo, the floods were so intense that they turned the path from the alligators' enclosure to the koala habitat into a river. This unexpected situation prompted the zookeepers and veterinary technicians to spring into action and protect the koalas from the large reptiles, reports the Daily Mail.

The video was posted on Facebook, and it has been shared thousands of times because it shows just how brave and confident the staff members of this zoo are when handling alligators. The floods also prompted the closure of the park for about a day, but it reopened for the busy weekend.

In the meantime, residents in other parts of Australia are hoping that the rains will continue falling across the vast country so that the terrible fires get a nice shot of Mother Nature. The koalas in captivity are being closely protected because of the massive losses caused by the wildfires.

If you enjoy this video, pass it around your social media contacts, particularly those who are interested in nature conservation and the ecological disaster that Australia has been facing since before Christmas.