Rising temperatures in Australia and the enduring wildfires have posed serious challenges for local wildlife, who often have no other choice but to endure the unbearable heat. However, one little koala in need of a good drink thankfully got some help from a particularly kindhearted cyclist.
According to the Independent, Aussie cycling enthusiast Anna Heuseler went viral this month after lending her water bottle to a desperately dehydrated koala who sought out her help during a recent ride.
In her first post, which shows the koala clinging to her bicycle spokes as it gulps from her water bottle, Heuseler wrote,
"This koala walked right up to me as I was descending and climbed up onto my bike while I gave him water. BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO BE ON A RIDE EVER."
In another post, she explained that she and a group of other cyclists were heading towards Adelaide, South Australia, on December 20 when they spotted the koala sitting in the middle of the road.
Temperatures that day had reached a sweltering 40C, but the clearly suffering animal appeared to trust its new company enough to scurry over to Heuseler's bike in need of a drink.
In the video, the koala stands on Heuseler's bicycle spokes as it keeps one paw held tight to her hand, keeping the bottle in place as it drinks.
It soon lapped up all the water in the bottle, prompting Hueseler to ask her company for another one to keep helping the poor animal.
"I stopped on my bike and he walked right up to me, quite quickly for a koala, and as I was giving him a drink from all our water bottles, he actually climbed up onto my bike," she told 7News. "None of us have ever seen anything like it."
After helping the koala, Heuseler said they carefully escorted the animal safely back to the shelter of the trees and off the road.
On the same day that Heuseler encountered the sweet animal, a statewide code red was declared in South Australia, particularly to provide extra help for the homeless population as temperatures soared to 40C.
However, those numbers have since drastically decreased, with some ecologists fearing as many as 9,000 have perished in the devastating destruction.
The fires have wiped out 5 million hectares (12 million acres) of land, making it extremely difficult for wildlife to find food and water, as well as eliminating their habitats.
Experts estimate as many as 480 million animals in total have been killed since the wildfires began in September.
h/t: Independent, 7News
