R10m raised to rescue burnt Koalas

Sydney – An online fundraiser for koalas injured in devastating bushfires topped A$1 million (R10.02 million) yesterday, making it Australia’s biggest campaign on the GoFundMe platform this year.

Deadly bushfires have ravaged vast swathes of eastern Australia, and wildlife carers estimate hundreds of koalas have been killed this month in New South Wales alone.

A crowdfunding page set up by the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital to provide automatic water drinking stations attracted donations from more than 20 000 people from countries including the US, France and England.

The wildlife charity’s “Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires” drive, which had an initial goal of just $25 000, is the second biggest since the platform launched there in 2016.

It is one of 700 bushfire-related fundraisers launched on the platform in the past 10 days. Combined they have raised $2 million.

The next-biggest was the $60 000 to support firefighters and those impacted by the blazes, which have killed six people, razed hundreds of homes and scorched about 1.5 million hectares of land since October.

The koala hospital, about four hours north of Sydney, has rescued 31 koalas from the scorched bush in recent weeks, and said it had been “overwhelmed by the kindness, good wishes and support from the Australian and international community”.

It plans to use the excess funds to deliver koala drinking stations to other parts of the state, purchase a water-carrying vehicle to replenish the stations, and establish a koala breeding programme.

The fires have destroyed large tracts of the tree-dwelling marsupial’s habitat. A so-called “Koala Ark” is to be built for recovering koalas, the hospital said, hoping they will eventually breed and be returned to the wild.