UPDATE @ 8:40 a.m. MT
As OCR said in a comment, during the surgery it was discovered that Sam had severe problems in her urinary and reproductive tract that were non-operable and had to be put to sleep. CNN has more details HERE.
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In February Wildfire Today reported on Sam, an injured koala that was rescued from from a fire in Australia by a firefighter. Here are the photos from the February articles:
Well, Sam is not doing well, but not because of the burns he suffered in the fire. From an AP report:
But shelter spokeswoman Peita Elkhorne said Wednesday that Sam had developed abdominal cysts due to a disease called urogenital chlamydiosis, which affects up to 50 percent of Australia’s koala population. The disease can cause infertility, urinary tract infections and blindness and can be life-threatening.
Sam will undergo surgery on Thursday and the prognosis for surviving the operation is not good, Elkhorne said.
“We’re telling the public to brace for the worst-case scenario,” she said.
Elkhorne said Sam was “comfortable” but that a decision was made to try to remove the cysts because the disease can kill koalas.
She said Sam’s prospects would be known by Friday.
