A billion animals is not a billion animals. A billion animals is one individual, and then another, and then another, and again another.
In fire-ravaged Australia these last several months, they are the kangaroo succumbing to billowing flames and smoke. They are the koala trying to lift her paws from the burning ground below her. They are the steer being euthanized in a field by a distressed farmer.
“Over one billion” seems to be an agreed upon descriptor by scientists and the media with regard to the recent animal deaths in Australia. It’s a number that’s near impossible to get one’s head around, or feel. It’s the same when we speak of people in large numbers. 27 dead in a suicide bombing. 30,000 migrating refugees. 10,000,000 starved during a famine. Our ability to empathize recedes as the numbers increase.
Louise Bonomi with a joey who was injured by the bushfires. Curious horses in the pasture came over to investigate.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
During natural and climate change disasters, it seems near impossible to be able to organize to address those numbers, but we try.
Veterinarian Chris Barton of Vets for Compassion carries eucalyptus browse into a destroyed eucalyptus tree plantation where surviving koalas perch high in trees. The fresh eucalyptus is tied to the base of trees which lures them down, at which point the rescuers and vets can catch the koala and assess them for injuries. If the animals are kept for rehabilitation, they will later be released to the wild.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
The animal rescuers and veterinarians that I met in Australia, and the sanctuaries that I visited, are trying. More than trying: doing. With maximum effort and often minimal sleep, they are in the field. Searching. Finding. Devising. Rescuing. Triaging. Treating. Delivering. Saving. And euthanizing humanely, when they feel there is no other way, and that this is the compassionate choice.
Looking for survivors in the Corryong area. If trees are burnt at the bottom, koalas are sometimes up higher in an elbow of the tree.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
In this fire-burned landscape, roadblocks to successful rescues are literal and figurative.
A sub-adult wombat is treated for a brain injury and various wounds at Southern Cross Wildlife Care. He was most likely hurt when fleeing the fires.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Injured koalas are transported to an RSPCA triage site in Bairnsdale, Victoria, where they will receive treatment for burns, smoke inhalation, and dehydration.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Injured koalas are transported to an RSPCA triage site in Bairnsdale, Victoria, where they will receive treatment for burns, smoke inhalation, and dehydration.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A ten-month-old koala receives care and treatment at an RSPCA triage site. She lost her mother in the forest fires and her back paws are scorched. She eats browse (leaves) but still breastfeeds so she is being given a milk supplement, and is on pain medications via an IV.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
This story documents people across Australia with incredibly big hearts, who continue to fight the odds and do their very best for the individuals who have survived the fires and still need help. Animals are burned and dehydrated, and with so much food and nourishment up in smoke, many are starving. Although media attention is now waning, the crisis continues and help will be needed, ongoing.
These are some of the heroic and successful efforts from people bringing aid to the victims of the fires. I’m grateful for their tenacity and for the hope they bring us all. This brings to mind the David Orr quote, “Hope is a verb with its shirtsleeves rolled up.”
We’re grateful to the following organizations for allowing us to work alongside them and capture their important work during the bushfire crisis:
Animals Australia
Changing the world for animals by exposing cruelty and inspiring compassion through public awareness, investigations, corporate outreach, legal advocacy, and global work.
Southern Cross Wildlife Care
A non-profit, volunteer run Registered Charity dedicated to the treatment and care of wildlife, particularly native animals.
Vets for Compassion
Their vision is to improve animal welfare in Australia and in Asia.
RSCPA Victoria
RSPCA Victoria works to educate the community regarding animal welfare and works with government and industry to ensure the standard of animal welfare and care continues to improve.
Mallacoota Wildlife Shelter
Caring for sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife with the aim to rehabilitate and release them back into the wild.
Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary
Seeking to create a humane and just world for humans and non-humans.
To view more images from this story, please visit our Australia Bushfires gallery on the We Animals Stock Site.