The image of a sad male koala hugging a dead female koala was caught on camera by an Australian animal rescue team.
According to Australia’s Weekly Times and 9News on the 26th (local time), the local animal rescue group ‘Koala Rescue’ recently released a koala rescue video through its Facebook account.
This group responded to a forest in Adelaide, southern Australia, after receiving a report that there were two koalas in need of rescue.
A male koala hugging a female. Koala Rescue Facebook captureThey found a pair of male and female koalas at the scene. However, the female koala had already passed away and the male koala was standing by her side.
The male koala was only touching the dead female koala’s body. Afterwards, he looked at the female and the sky alternately, then leaned his entire body and hugged the female, appearing to be in mourning.
The rescue group checked the health of the male koala, confirmed that it was healthy, and returned it to nature. The female body was also recovered.
A male koala hugging a female. Koala Rescue Facebook captureRescue groups said it was difficult to witness such a scene. Since koalas are not social animals, it is not easy to see them expressing affection.
A rescue group said, “Rescuing koalas and collecting dead children is always difficult, but this time it was even more heartbreaking,” adding, “This is a scene where you can see that koalas know how to empathize and care. “The male’s reaction to facing death shows the beauty of nature,” he added.
Koalas are one of Australia’s most iconic animals, but have been designated as an endangered species due to population decline over the past 20 years. Climate change, large-scale forest fires, and habitat destruction due to mining, residential, and agricultural land development and logging are considered major causes of population decline.
In particular, research results showed that 60,000 koalas living in the area were killed or injured due to forest fires that continued from late 2019 to early 2020.
The Koala Foundation, which currently protects and studies koalas in Australia, estimates that there will be at least 38,000 to 63,000 koalas living in the country by 2023.
Choi Jae-ho,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.