Australian wildlife has been suffering under the country’s recent heat wave and an onslaught of wildfires.
Luckily, the country’s first responders have been more than willing to reach out and lend a hand in whatever way they can.
Footage from a video taken on Sunday shows a firefighter stopping to hand-feed water to a struggling koala.
READ MORE: Australia’s prime minister defends his government’s climate policy as fires rage
The animal drinks out of the plastic bottle while an empty bottle sits between its legs. The grass all around the animal is completely dry and smoke rises in the background.
Get daily National news
This is just one example in a series of instances in which humankind has jumped in to save animals as weather patterns and bushfires devastate much of the country.
The weekend before Christmas, a kangaroo was found by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in a charred wasteland in Lobethal Vineyard near Adelaide.
An inspector can be seen giving the kangaroo a glass of water. The animal guzzles it down.
The RSPCA told Storyful that much of its work has involved “humanely euthanizing” animals that have been injured by the fires.
READ MORE: 69 Canadians to give up holidays at home, head to Australia to battle wildfires
The South Australia fires have taken out 86 homes and more than 500 other structures, 7 News reports.
The heat isn’t over, though. Temperatures are expected to reach record highs again next week, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says.
—