Irwin Family Has Helped More Than 90,000 Animals During Bushfire Emergency

Authored by ladbible.com and submitted by 8myabcsair
image for Irwin Family Has Helped More Than 90,000 Animals During Bushfire Emergency

As the bush fires rage across parts of Australia, the country's animals are fighting to stay alive, with millions perishing in the flames.

Ecologists from the University of Sydney recently estimated that around 480 millions animals have died in the past three months.

The rescue operations have put an incredible strain on local charities and zoos, and Bindi Irwin, the daughter of late TV personality Steve, has now revealed that she and staff at Australia Zoo have been been treating record numbers of patients.

Taking to Instagram, the 21-year-old wrote: "With so many devastating fires within Australia, my heart breaks for the people and wildlife who have lost so much. I wanted to let you know that we are SAFE. There are no fires near us @AustraliaZoo or our conservation properties.

"Our Wildlife Hospital is busier than ever though, having officially treated over 90,000 patients. My parents dedicated our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to my beautiful grandmother.

Bindi Irwin says she and staff at Australia Zoo have treated 90,000 animals. Credit: Instagram

"We will continue to honour her by being Wildlife Warriors and saving as many lives as we can."

This comes after distressing footage was shared showing dozens of kangaroos fleeing from the devastating bush fires.

The group is seen running for their lives across grassland near the New South Wales village of Bredbo, desperately searching for safety from the fires.

Mitchell Lyons, who filmed the heartbreaking moment, said: "Look, they don't know which way to run from cars, but they sure know which way to run from fire."

According to Lyons, the closest bush fire was around six miles away from the land they were running over, so he thinks they were coming out 'to stop for a drink'.

Although wildlife rescue services have rescued some of the kangaroos and treated them for burned feet pads, wildlife experts have estimated that millions of animals have been killed by the Australian bush fires.

Kangaroos flee the flames in Lithgow, New South Wales. Credit: PA

Many species have been affected, including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats and echidnas. Koalas are feared to be among the hardest hit, with an estimated 30 percent of just one koala colony on the country's northeast coast thought to be lost.

As well as the danger caused by the flames themselves, the bush fires have caused hazardous levels of smoke to be spewed into the atmosphere - choking people hundreds of miles away.

On New Year's Day, readings at one station in the Australian Capital Territory registered an air quality index reading of a whopping 4,650. For some perspective, when the AQI goes above 200, it's considered hazardous.

samwaytla on January 4th, 2020 at 16:38 UTC »

Jesus, until now the thought "what would Steve Irwin think about all this?" hadn't crossed my mind.

But now it has. And it makes me very sad.

astropandastarbear on January 4th, 2020 at 16:10 UTC »

The Irwin family will always be one of the most respected and loved families. We miss you Steve.

autotldr on January 4th, 2020 at 16:00 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 77%. (I'm a bot)

"Taking to Instagram, the 21-year-old wrote:"With so many devastating fires within Australia, my heart breaks for the people and wildlife who have lost so much.

"Our Wildlife Hospital is busier than ever though, having officially treated over 90,000 patients. My parents dedicated our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to my beautiful grandmother."

Although wildlife rescue services have rescued some of the kangaroos and treated them for burned feet pads, wildlife experts have estimated that millions of animals have been killed by the Australian bush fires.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: wildlife#1 fire#2 Australia#3 run#4 bush#5