A wildlife volunteer on Kangaroo Island says he cries every day as he works around the clock desperately trying to save the animals stranded in the fire-torn bushland.
Kai Wild travelled to Adelaide to volunteer for the rescue operation at the end of January, lending his tree-climbing expertise to bring in injured koalas.
But he has described being overcome with emotion, claiming a lack of support services is leading to koala deaths that could have been prevented.
Today was another extraordinarily full on day. I didn't cry during breakfast but I did cry in rage for what I think is the first time in my life,' he wrote on Saturday.
'Hang tight because the hospital is currently overflowing, Koalas are starting to starve and we can't afford to stuff this up.'
Kai Wild is among those helping to recover and rehabilitate the wildlife on the island.
Since arriving on January 30 he's helped to rescue a total of 18 koalas, including four orphaned joeys.
But four days in and he's described the struggle to deal with the devastation.
'While we were driving around this afternoon we found the thing that I have been dreading and the thing that I'm here to stop from happening,' he wrote.
'I've seen plenty of koalas that have burnt to death. 100s. I've seen koalas that are decomposing because they starved weeks ago but I haven't seen a koala that has died from starvation recently, in the time that I've been here. Until today.'
He shared the tale in a plea for more support services, after finding the first body of a koala which survived the fires only to starve to death.
'So today I kind of realised that I'm the only one that's going to come out and put koala feed stations in these plantations where the koalas are about to starve,' he said.
'Even though there are organisations saying there are 120 people out here to feed the animals. Apparently the plantations are dangerous.'
Kai Wild travelled to Adelaide to volunteer for the rescue operation at the end of January, lending his tree-climbing expertise to bring in injured koalas.
But he has described being overcome with emotion, claiming a lack of support services is leading to koala deaths that could have been prevented.
Today was another extraordinarily full on day. I didn't cry during breakfast but I did cry in rage for what I think is the first time in my life,' he wrote on Saturday.
'Hang tight because the hospital is currently overflowing, Koalas are starting to starve and we can't afford to stuff this up.'
Kai Wild is among those helping to recover and rehabilitate the wildlife on the island.
Since arriving on January 30 he's helped to rescue a total of 18 koalas, including four orphaned joeys.
But four days in and he's described the struggle to deal with the devastation.
'While we were driving around this afternoon we found the thing that I have been dreading and the thing that I'm here to stop from happening,' he wrote.
'I've seen plenty of koalas that have burnt to death. 100s. I've seen koalas that are decomposing because they starved weeks ago but I haven't seen a koala that has died from starvation recently, in the time that I've been here. Until today.'
He shared the tale in a plea for more support services, after finding the first body of a koala which survived the fires only to starve to death.
'So today I kind of realised that I'm the only one that's going to come out and put koala feed stations in these plantations where the koalas are about to starve,' he said.
'Even though there are organisations saying there are 120 people out here to feed the animals. Apparently the plantations are dangerous.'
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