Koala rescued from flames reunites with rescuer in hospital following Australian bushfire
SYDNEY -- As wildfires rage across parts of Australia, people are stepping up to help some of the smallest victims of the flames: the koalas.
A dramatic rescue video shows a woman pull a badly burned koala from a bushfire.
Toni Doherty literally took the shirt off her back to rescue the little fella from the flames.
Doherty told local broadcaster Network Nine that it was "just natural instinct" for her to rush to the koala's aid, wrapping the animal in her shirt and pouring water over it.
Doherty reunited with the koala, now named Lewis, at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
Clinical director Cheyne Flanagan said he sustained serious burns but is on fluids and oxygen and is eating just fine.
"He's probably the worst one we've got here," she said. "He's got, what we call, partial thickness burns and there's one little spot of full thickness. So he's got really badly burnt hands and feet, he's got burns under his arms, his nose is burnt and a bit of his private parts are burnt as well, and he is singed all over."
A Koala Hospital Port Macquarie Facebook post calls Doherty "an absolute legend" for her actions.
Videos of koala rescues emerge following deadly Australian fires
