Koala rescued in fire is improving

Koala rescue
Cheyenne Tree treats a Koala nicknamed Sam, saved from the bushfires in Gippsland, at the Mountain Ash Wildlife Center in Rawson, 100 miles (170 kilometers) east of Melbourne, Australia, where workers were scrambling to salve the wounds of possums, kangaroos and lizards Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009. AP photo

The koala that was rescued in one of the fires in Australia now has a name and a boyfriend. Named “Sam”, the female koala has a protective male that was also rescued in the fires, named “Bob”, looking after her at the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson, 100 miles east of Melbourne. Bob is making sure that Sam is OK and keeps an eye on her when she is moved by the caretakers.

Both of the koalas had their paws singed in the fires and will likely be cared for at the shelter for at least four months.

Firefighter David Tree was photographed in the video below giving water to the dehydrated critter on February 1. Tree can be heard saying: “How much can a koala bear?” Since then, the shelter has been inundated with phone calls with people inquiring about the health of the koala.

Of course this brings to mind the singed bear cub that was rescued by a firefighter in northern California last summer. That story had a happy ending last week when the healthy 100-pound bear was released into the wild. We hope Sam and Bob have similar success.

More information about Sam and Bob is HERE.

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