Koala happy to have been saved from Australian fires

Koala hospital Australia bushfires
Australian wildfires have destroyed up to 30% of koalas' native habitat.Saeed Khan / AFO via Getty Images
Bushfires in Australia have devastated the country's koala population.
Australians are doing everything they can, however, to save the beloved marsupial.
Photos of the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in New South Wales show the catastrophic impact the bushfires have had on koalas and how hospital volunteers are working day and night to rescue them.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Bushfires throughout the Australian territory of New South Wales have devastated its koala population.Show more

So far, the wildfires have ravaged about 12.35 million acres of land, killing nine people and destroying more than 1,000 homes. Moreover, the feared ecological loss is enormous. Australia's environment minister, Sussan Ley, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that her ministry estimated that up to 30% of koalas' habitat had been destroyed. Exactly how much has been lost won't be known until the fires die down.

But some Australians have been galvanized to save one of their country's most beloved animal species. As Australia continues to face extreme heat and bushfires, videos of koalas being given water have spread across social media. And the grassroots support doesn't stop there.

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, a small koala hospital in New South Wales, raised over 2.2 million Australian dollars after starting a GoFundMe page with a goal of just 25,000 AUD. The GoFundMe is one of the most successful in Australian history, and it even caught the attention of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Pictures from the hospital show the devastation Australia's koalas are facing and the efforts of ordinary Australians to save the iconic marsupial.