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Published 15:50 IST, January 5th 2020

Australia bushfires: Hunter becomes unlikely hero after rescuing koalas

An Australian hunter has become an unlikely hero after he risked his life and entered unsafe areas of Victoria to save Koalas from the deadly bushfires.

Reported by: Shubham Bose
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A hunter has become an unlikely hero after he risked his life and entered unsafe areas of Victoria to save Koalas from the deadly bushfires. According to Patrick, he rescued a total of nine koalas from almost certain deaths by venturing into eucalyptus forests in Mallacoota, East Gippsland.

While talking to local media, Patrick said that he found the first koala under the pump of a water treatment plant. That first koala spurred Patrick into action and then he continued to find more and ended up finding 8-9 of them. But he also found quite a few koalas' that did not make it.

Because Patrick is a hunter by profession, that is why people found it so hard to believe that he was saving animals. After being rescued Patrick took the koalas to nearby Mallacoota Wildlife Shelter, which is actually just someone's house, where they are being looked after.

The dawning situation in Australia is impossible to ignore as the devastating bushfires have triggered extreme heatwaves in the country. Australia is battling one of the hottest days of the season with temperatures rising up to 40-degree Celcius. The current atmosphere down under has made life harder for the wildlife living in the affected areas.

Read: Australia: Experts Fears Over 2,000 Koalas Died In Bushfires

Read: Experts Now Believe That Koalas Are 'Functionally Extinct' Due To Devastating Bush Fires

Capital city Canberra had banned fireworks from its official New Year's Eve celebration but Prime Minister Scott Morrison allowed it to happen in Sydney. The decision of Scott Morrison to celebrate New Year's Eve with fireworks has attracted a lot of backlash from Australian citizens.

Read: Thousands Of Koalas Feared Dead In Australia Wildfires

Read: Koalas Have Become Global Face Of Australian Bushfire Crisis

Global face of Australian bushfire crisis

If there is one indigenous creature that has become the global face of the current crisis, they are the Koalas. Australia is known for its kangaroos, but koalas have taken the centre stage in the ongoing crisis and have become the global face for Australia. Koalas have suffered the most in the ongoing bushfires across Australia. It is believed that at least 8,000 koalas have lost their lives during the current bushfire season and up to one-third of their habitat on the north coast of the state may have fled due to rampaging blaze.

15:50 IST, January 5th 2020