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Although Australia is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic like the rest of the world, there is a sliver of good news for the land Down Under – the first rescued koalas are starting to be released into the wild.
The marsupials were rescued from their bushfire-ravaged habitats last year, and have been in the care of zoos and animal hospitals ever since.
With the 2019/2020 bushfire season officially over in Australia as of 31 March, rescuers have started releasing these animals back into the wild and, in some cases, even back to the tree where they were found.
The first were released by Sydney-based conservation organisation, Science for Wildlife.
The non-profit group released 12 of the animals back into their natural habitat in the Blue Mountains on 25 and 27 March.
The koalas were rescued in December last year, and had been in the care of staff at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.
Dr Kellie Leigh, executive director of Science for Wildlife, said in a statement: “While they have coped well in care, we are delighted to finally send our koalas home. We have been busy assessing the burnt area that we rescued them from, to establish when the conditions have improved enough that the trees can support them again.
“The recent rains have helped and there is now plenty of new growth for them to eat, so the time is right. We will be radio-tracking them and keeping a close eye on them to make sure that they settle in OK.”
Koalas are also being released in other parts of New South Wales, the state where Sydney is located.
Staff and volunteers at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, based four hours’ drive north of Sydney, released their first koala on 2 April.
The four-year-old named Anwen was rescued in October last year, and will be the first of 26 koalas to be released into the wild by the animal hospital over the coming days.
The remaining koalas will be split into three groups and will be released back to their original habitats in Crowdy Bay (South of Port Macquarie), and two areas in the Lake Innes Nature Reserve.
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1/25
Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide
AAP Image/Reuters
2/25
Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales
Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP
3/25
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area
Reuters
4/25
Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires
Jackie Maisey/AP
5/25
Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo
EPA
6/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty Images
7/25
Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum
Reuters
8/25
Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney
EPA
9/25
A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide
Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters
10/25
An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head
EPA
11/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty
12/25
A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services
13/25
A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
AFP via Getty
14/25
Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health
EPA
15/25
A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia
Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters
16/25
WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay
EPA
17/25
Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne
EPA
18/25
Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland
Kim Simeon via Reuters
19/25
An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES
EPA
20/25
A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP
21/25
WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head
EPA
22/25
A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton
Reuters
23/25
Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires
Simone Watts via Reuters
24/25
A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty
25/25
A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley
AFP via Getty Images
1/25
Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide
AAP Image/Reuters
2/25
Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales
Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP
3/25
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area
Reuters
4/25
Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires
Jackie Maisey/AP
5/25
Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo
EPA
6/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty Images
7/25
Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum
Reuters
8/25
Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney
EPA
9/25
A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide
Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters
10/25
An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head
EPA
11/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty
12/25
A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services
13/25
A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
AFP via Getty
14/25
Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health
EPA
15/25
A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia
Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters
16/25
WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay
EPA
17/25
Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne
EPA
18/25
Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland
Kim Simeon via Reuters
19/25
An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES
EPA
20/25
A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP
21/25
WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head
EPA
22/25
A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton
Reuters
23/25
Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires
Simone Watts via Reuters
24/25
A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty
25/25
A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley
AFP via Getty Images
Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, said, “This is a heart-warming day for us – to be able to release so many of our koalas back to their original habitats, even to their original tree in some cases – makes us very happy.
“Anwen was our first ever female koala to be admitted during the bushfires and her recovery has been extraordinary. It marks a proud moment for Australia; to see our Koala population and habitat starting to recover from what was such a devastating time.”
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has also cared for koalas from Taree, the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury. The hospital said these will be returned to their “home” areas to be released.
Australia’s latest bushfire season nearly doubled the country’s greenhouse emissions.
As a result of the extensive damage, the country changed the rules of its Working Holiday Visa scheme to allow young Britons to count volunteering in bushfire-ravaged areas towards obtaining a second or third year visa.