A koala who was rescued from a wildfire thanks to the heroic efforts of one woman to save the marsupial from the flames in Australia has died from injuries.
Officials with The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital said a decision was made to put down the koala named Ellenborough Lewis after they determined it would not be possible for the little guy to recover from the serious injuries and burns he sustained, per TMZ in a piece published Tuesday. (RELATED: Canine Partner Of Murdered Officer Will Retire, Live With His Widow And Son)
WATCH:
A woman rescued a badly burnt and wailing koala from an Australian bushfire on Tuesday.
The koala was spotted crossing a road amongst the flames near Long Flat in New South Wales, on the eastern side of Australia. pic.twitter.com/fStGSAzwkD
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 19, 2019
Lewis was receiving a substantial amount of pain relief from the animal hospital, but officials had warned that they were considering putting him to sleep if his injuries were untreatable. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Announces He Was Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer)
According to the report:
After euthanizing the koala, the hospital said its “number one goal is animal welfare, so it was on those grounds that this decision was made.”
As previously reported, Lewis gained fame after video surfaced of the wild moment the woman stripped down to her bra to rescue the koala from the burning brushfire near Long Flat in New South Wales, on the eastern side of Australia.
In the clip posted by NBC News, we saw the koala crossing the road among all the burning brush, and the woman swoop in with her shirt and pull Lewis straight out of the flames where he had been surrounded.
At one point in the video, we could see the woman run out of the flames with the animal before she starts to douse the koala with water and pour water in his mouth as we hear the animal crying.
Lewis was estimated to be 14 years old. Rest in peace.