After numerous bushfires wreaked havoc in Australia, animals living in the wild suffered the most. While many perished because of the fires, some were saved by residents living nearby. 


One such incident went viral when a woman risked herself to save a baby koala

Abc.net

Just like the woman, residents in New South Wales and other parts of the country also came forward to help the poor marsupials, who were affected in large numbers. 


The residents started by creating mittens and little pouches to ensure the rescued animals get a homely feeling. 

According to UNILAD, locals did this in a bid to help the poor marsupials as wildlife hospitals in Australia were struggling to keep up with the huge demand. 

BBC

In addition to the operations undertaken by the agencies, an NGO, The Rescue Collective, has been collecting and distributing supplies from the public to domestic rescue and wildlife hospital services in every city of the country. 


Nicole Blums, one of the organizers, spoke to ABC Radio Brisbane

If it’s an animal that’s lived in the bush they’re ending up in wildlife hospitals at the moment. Reptiles, koalas, joeys, snakes are all being found by people either trying to escape the fires or being caught in them. We have had people knitting koala mittens for burnt pads and sewing pouches for marsupials.People are so passionate to help the animals, they want to save our national emblems and they want to do whatever they can to help.
Metro UK

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) explained they didn’t have to arrange for mittens since so many local residents already provided the knitted goods. 


But donations for cash and medical supplies are welcome. 

After bushfires affected big patches of forested areas, more than $75,000 has been donated to koala hospitals in the state so far.


Once the fires are under control, the group plans to support the carers who are out on the ground rescuing animals.