PORT MACQUARIE, Australia: Two koalas were rescued from a fire-ravaged area of Australia's east coast on Saturday (Nov 2) but the fate of hundreds more remains uncertain with blazes still raging in their bush habitat.
The first koala, named "Corduroy Paul", was found dehydrated amid the devastation some 400km north of Sydney, and was taken to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital early Saturday morning.
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"He was picked up off the ground and curled up in a little ball, basically not moving," Sue Ashton, the hospital's president, told AFP.
Land clearing and development has devastated the tree-dwelling koalas' habitat, leading to increased inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity of the marsupial. (Photo: AFP/Guillaume Souvant)
The juvenile marsupial, weighing just 5kg, is now doing "really well", Ashton said, and was joined later by a female koala called Anwin who is also being treated for dehydration.
READ: Hundreds of rare koalas feared dead in Australia bushfire
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Bushfires blazing in the area have destroyed thousands of hectares over the past week, including a densely populated habitat of "very rare" koalas.
A further four more koalas are to be picked up on Sunday after being spotted in the bushland on the outskirts of the fire, the hospital said.
Rescuers are hoping to gain greater access to the devastated koala habitat tomorrow, where authorities say the fire is coming under control. (Photo: AFP/Saeed Khan)
Hundreds of the creatures are feared to have died in the fires, and as the days go by a lack of water is further hampering their chances of survival.
"That is our concern, not only that they are burnt, but that they are now dehydrated," Ashton said.
"They are going days without water, or leaf – which gives them 65 per cent of theRead More – Source
