With dangerous bushfire conditions again set to hit tomorrow, this former rescue dog could be an unlikely lifesaver. Bear, the koala detection dog is desperately sniffing out survivors before another fire front hits…
Bushfires may have claimed up to 500 koala’s lives in the past two weeks as blazes ripped through the mid north coast and south eastern Queensland. And while the intensity of the fires, along with a koala’s unfortunate instinct to climb higher into a tree as the flames approach has meant there have been few survivors, Bear is unlikely to give up trying to find that little face among the ashes in the Sunshine Coast region however. After all, when he was homeless for being ‘untrainable’, it was his desire to sniff out just about any scent that gave him a second chance at life.
This belief that tiny survivors would be found has certainly paid off in the Port Macquarie area. In the last few days, two koalas, “Mary” and “Kate” were found many days after the fires swept through with both now rehydrated and starting to eat eucalyptus leaves again. It’s small steps towards what will hopefully be a brighter future…