Lewis the koala that had been rescued by a brave woman has passed away as vets had to put him down due to the extent of his injuries.
Lewis was rescued by Toni Doherty who was caught on camera running into the blaze of bushfire to rescue the trapped koala.
After the animal was taken to Port Macquarie’s Koala Hospital, he was treated for severe burns to his body.
Sadly, Lewis’ condition continued to degrade and the vets were forced to make the tough decision of putting the animal down to stop it from suffering any further.
“Today we made the decision to put Ellenborough Lewis to sleep. We placed him under general anesthesia this morning to assess his burns injuries and change the bandages,” the hospital announced in their heartbreaking Facebook post.
“In Ellenborough Lewis’s case, the burns did get worse, and unfortunately would not have gotten better.
“The Koala Hospital’s number one goal is animal welfare, so it was on those grounds that this decision was made. We thank you for your ongoing support.”
Soon enough, animal lovers have gathered on social media to pay their respects to the koala and once again praise the brave rescuer.
“RIP little Lewis. Without the bravery of his rescuer and the treatment at KHPM he would have died in even more severe pain and suffering somewhere in the burning bush,” someone wrote.
“Collective hearts around the world have broken. Just as I’m sure those of the caring staff in the Koala Hospital already had. Thank you for doing everything you could to save this brave little man,” another one added.
As for Doherty, the kind rescuer who not only risked her life to save Lewis but also visited him in the hospital during his recovery, she spoke out and explained why leaving the koala behind was not an option.
“It was vulnerable, all I could think to do was to try and rescue him. We just jumped out and I knew I needed to put something around him as I ran to the tree so I just took off my shirt and covered him with it and tried to get him out of the fire,” Tina said in an interview with Today Show.
“He was being burnt. He was burning underneath, on his little back legs when he was approaching the tree, I’ve never heard a koala before, I didn’t realize they could cry out.”
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