A video of two heroic teens on a rescue mission amid the devastation of the Australian bushfire crisis is helping lift the spirits of millions. The teens rescued a carload of injured koalas and drove them to get medical help.
Micah Lovegrove and his cousin decided to take action after finding a number of injured koalas near their family’s fire-damaged property on Kangaroo Island, located off the coast of South Australia.
Lovegrove told the Adelaide Advertiser that he discovered a single koala cowering on the ground while inspecting damage to his uncle’s home. The concerned teen soon realized that there were many more displaced koalas on the ground of the blue gum plantation surrounding the home, singed and suffering.
The young man hatched a plan.
In the Jan. 2, 2020, video that has since gone viral, Lovegrove pans the camera around the interior of his car within which at least seven injured koalas are huddled, including a baby, still clinging to its mother. Lovegrove later posted the video to Facebook, where it was picked up by Global News.
“Doing a little koala rescue,” the cameraman explains. “Just trying to collect as many live ones as we can.”
Lovegrove and his cousin collected the koalas by gently picking them up with towels. They drove them to neighbors who have a native wildlife permit, as per Insider, for safe refuge and medical assistance.
“We’d run up and down, picking up koalas and checking to see if they looked okay to leave behind,” Lovegrove told the Adelaide Advertiser. “If they were responsive, could climb, and had a good coat, we left them.”
Sadly, the koala lying on the passenger seat of the car died as a result of its injuries on the journey to the neighbors’ house. Amid the magnitude of the tragedy, social media users left supportive comments for Lovegrove, his cousin, and their rescue efforts for the remaining creatures.
“This is so heartbreaking,” wrote one person. “Thankful for humans like Micah and his family. God bless you.”
“Not all heroes wear capes,” added another.
The koalas were not the only creatures hurt and killed in the Kangaroo Island bushfires and were not the only creatures that Lovegrove filmed after the blaze destroyed his uncle’s home.
In footage picked up and shared by the New York Post, Lovegrove wanders solemnly across the scorched farmland and over the many carcasses of animals that fell victim to the fire and the smoke. Two frightened sheep with blackened coats pick their way through the apocalyptic debris.
According to HuffPost, as of Jan. 7, 2020, the Kangaroo Island bushfires have destroyed 400,000 acres of land, equating to one third of the island. This even includes parts of Flinders Chase National Park.
On Kangaroo Island alone, an estimated 20,000 of the previously 50,000-strong koala population has been completely wiped out. A father and a son have also lost their lives.
As devastating statistics consume international news headlines, acts of kindness like Lovegrove and his cousin’s are fighting back, hoping to make as much of a positive impact as they possibly can.
Louise Chambers
Author
Louise Chambers is a writer, born and raised in London, England. She covers inspiring news and human interest stories.
