Aussie Woman Saves Burned Koala From Bushfire Using Her Own Shirt, Delivers Him to Koala Hospital

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

As the annual bushfire season continues to ravage Australia’s east coast, one lucky survivor and his rescuer have caught the world’s attention.

A woman spotted a koala crossing a road heading for the trees, attempting to escape the blaze in the town of Long Flat, New South Wales. The desperate animal’s back legs were burnt from scurrying across the flames. The woman decided in an instant to help by taking the shirt from her own back and lifting the koala to safety.

Toni Doherty used her shirt to lift the scorched, wailing koala from the trunk of a tree before pouring water over his fur to cool the koala’s burned skin. Toni’s heroic rescue was caught on camera; the footage has since gone viral, being shared by media outlets around the globe.

“It was terrifying to see him just come out of the flames and he looked so defenceless running along the road,” Toni later told Australia’s 9News. “I knew I needed to put something around him as I ran to the tree, so I just took off my shirt and covered him with it.

“I just tried to get him out of the fire,” Toni continued, “it was so hot and so frightening.”

Toni described the scorched creature’s cries of pain as “heart-rending,” adding, “I’ve never heard a koala before. I didn’t realize they could cry out [...] I knew I needed to get him out of there as quickly as possible.”

Once the koala was out of immediate danger, the traumatized animal was driven to nearby Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, a specialist facility that has dedicated its service to treating koalas that have been injured in the annual bushfires.

Toni’s charge, lucky to be alive, was named “Lewis” after one of Toni’s grandsons. The pair was later reunited after Lewis received urgent treatment for his burns.

Lewis was taken to a carer’s home away from the koala hospital in order to receive continuous, one-to-one support through his difficult recovery. “He is probably 50-50 at this stage,” a spokesperson from the hospital told 9News. “His feet are completely burnt and he has burns to his chest and stomach.

“He has been bandaged and given antibiotics but will take a lot of looking after,” they added, “if he pulls through.”

After his admission to the hospital, updates on Lewis’s progress were shared on Twitter.

In order to cope with an overwhelming influx of injured koalas, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for their patients’ ongoing critical care. The hospital described the fires as “a national tragedy” and estimated that around 350 koalas have died; as much as 75 percent of the ground that has been decimated by bushfires is prime koala habitat.

The public responded with immense generosity to the hospital’s plea for financial assistance; to date, the hospital has raised over $1.6 million, far surpassing their initial $25,000 target. “We are overwhelmed and humbled with gratitude for the support and care shown by people from all over the world,” the hospital posted.

“Your generous donations have meant that we can now extend the original drinking stations project across a wider area of koala habitat in NSW. This program also benefits other wildlife affected in these areas,” they added.

Additionally, some of the funds will be directed toward building a “koala ark,” a healthy habitat area for any surviving koalas that are not able to be reintroduced into the wild. “Hopefully,” said the hospital, “these koalas will breed and a new population of koalas will be established for return to the wild.”

Toni, alongside Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, continues to hope for a full recovery for Lewis and his fellow injured koalas. “I was so pleased I had something to put over him and to get him out of harm’s way,” Toni said.

“It was a handy top,” she added, speaking of the shirt that helped her save Lewis. “I’ve washed it, it’s back in the wardrobe.”