화염 속 죽어간 캥거루ㆍ코알라… 호주 산불 비극에 나선 전세계 손길 Devastating wildfires in Australia have been wiping out some of the country's unique wildlife... with thousands of koalas and kangaroos already having been killed.
Australians are doing their best to save local animals from overwhelming bushfires by any means possible.
Choi Jeong-yoon tells us more.
A koala walks past flames across an empty road.
Then climbs up the embankment and stops, dejected, as the route ahead is blocked by fire.
One woman grabs a koala from the tree and pours water over its burnt body.
“We need to start doing something to rebuild a world populations as soon as we possibly can. We really need somebody to make a decision on this and do what’s needed.”
As wildfires continue to ravage Australia, some devastating numbers are emerging.
At least 24 people killed. More than 15 million acres burned. Over one thousand 400 homes destroyed.
Most of all, the fires have taken a grisly toll on the country's wild animals... up to 500 million are believed to have been killed in the blazes.
According to some local biodiversity experts, this could even be the beginning of the extinction of koalas.
An estimated 8,000 of them have died from the fires, accounting for one-third of all koalas in New South Wales.
Residents and fire fighters are doing all they can to save the animals.
Australian communities have banded together to help find, feed and rehabilitate survivors.
Even the animals that survived, scampering away or hunkering down, may die from dehydration or starvation.
For some, it's like losing a family.
One woman who lost her kangaroo sanctuary fears that dozens of the kangaroos have died.
About 22 kangaroos have returned to the sanctuary, some with serious burns.
"I thought they were all gonna be dead. There was so much smoke and fire and I didn't think there was going to be any alive. They have all got these amazing personalities and they're all individual and people don't understand what they're really like...They are my family. It's like losing a family, it's like losing your family."
International aid is arriving in the form of comforting blankets, protective pouches for joeys, and mittens for koalas with burned paws.
To those saving animals from the fires, experts say its important to follow precautions to stay safe from the fires
Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News.
#Australia #wildlife #animal
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