Sam McGlone is best known for amazing photos and videos of exotic travel destinations, from Bali to Greece, that he posts to Instagram, but this Australian social media star is working close to home these days, fighting fires with his dad, brother, and other members of the local community.
Amazingly, while raking away leaves and dousing the advancing blaze, Sam rescued a baby kangaroo that had gotten separated from its mother. In a video that has gone viral, Sam picks up the tiny, frightened joey and wraps it in a fire blanket.
After giving the baby kangaroo some water, Sam introduced his “little baby,” telling the frightened animal, “We got you buddy, don’t worry I’ve got you now.”
In the long struggle against the fires, finding the baby kangaroo alive was a hopeful moment. “The kangaroo is safe and healthy,” Sam told 7 News. “It felt so good to save the animal. It was amazing and worth it.”
Sam is trying to use the attention the video has garnered to convince people to donate to local animal rescue and firefighters. As he wrote on Instagram, “Australia is on fire! 500 million animals have been killed [...] This is heartbreaking. 10 Million acres burned. Please spread. Please donate.”
He has set up a GoFundMe page with proceeds to be donated to the Native Animal Rescue Group of Braidwood, which runs a Wombat Rescue center and has a 24-hour hotline for rescuing wild animals displaced by the fires. “We need to help these people as much a we can!” Sam wrote for the campaign, which has raised over $36,000 in just four days. “Your money will go towards helping injured wildlife.”
The social media star hails from Braidwood, New South Wales, about 60 miles from Sydney, and the area around his hometown has been severely affected by the months-long bushfires. “It’s been super hard and tiring,” he said to 7 News. “It’s been giving me anxiety because it’s long days, really hot and very dangerous.”
