£2000 - Bushfire Rescue

WATCH FIRST

Check out some dedicated and talented people are helping injured koalas.

BACKGROUND

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital is on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The Koala Hospital consists of a treatment room, 8 Intensive Care Units, 6 outdoor intensive care units and 33 rehabilitation yards, many of which have trees for koalas to learn to climb as part of the rehabilitation process. The Koala hospital has been in operation since 1973 and is run by 4 staff members and 140 volunteers. We can only imagine how busy they are when the catastrophic bushfires are at their peak during the Australian Summer.

These two beautiful koala’s Paul and Peter, were admitted at the end of 2019 with severe dehydration and burns to their feet and hands. Paul and Peter are just two of many koalas that have been saved and given a second chance. Burn Dressings have to be changed every three days and many of the Koalas will need to be hand fed leaf by leaf. Paul and Peter have been receiving treatment and are now in recovery in an intensive care unit within the hospital.

HOW THE ZIPPER FOUNDATION IS HELPING THE CAUSE

With Medik8’s strong relationship with Australia we are deeply saddened to hear about the recent state of emergency. So far over 8.4 million hectares of Australian land has been destroyed by the bushfire - an area larger than Scotland, UK. Animals have been left injured and homeless and thankfully there are amazing animal hospitals, sanctuaries, and volunteers that have taken action to save the animals.

Last week, The Zipper Foundation made a £2,000 urgent donation to Port Macquarie Koala Hospital which will go towards the rehabilitation of the injured Koalas and new drinking stations that have recently been destroyed by the fires. Peter and Paul are now doing well and looking forward to getting back to the wild after full rehabilitation, and when the habitat recovers a little.