Koalas are one of the world’s cutest animals!
Weighing in at around 20 pounds, an interesting fact about them is that they don’t drink much water.
In fact, they get most of their moisture from the eucalyptus leaves they eat each day.
They even store snack supplies of leaves in special pouches in their cheeks!
After Australians sweltered through the hottest December on record in 2018, the weather didn’t get much better in January, which is the middle of Australia’s summertime where temperatures can reach as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
When Australians had their hottest December on record, it was just a sign of the things to come.
January was sweltering with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit daily.
Health warnings were issued, advising residents to stay indoors and keep close tabs on their pets.
Wild animals don’t have the luxury of staying inside when the weather turns bad.
Their water just dries up, leaving them in peril.
When the dry weather sparked the now-famous wildfires, the animals in the outback were in serious trouble.
Power grids collapsed and things looked grim.
At one point, the town of Port Augusta reached 121 degrees on the coast.
A group of cyclists crazy enough to brave the intense, suffocating heat was out riding when they spied an excessively thirsty koala suffering from the intense heat.
Temperatures were well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit at that time.
Anna Heusler decided to film the event and upload it to Instagram to show just how desperate the animals were.
The koala literally climbed up her bike to get at her water bottle.
“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 happen to me on a ride ever. There were about a dozen cyclists around me watching this and several commented that it was genuinely the best thing they’ve witnessed. What a truly wonderful experience.”
Another story involves a husband and wife who were out and about.
Remember, January in Australia is the middle of summer!
When they came around the bend, a koala was on the side of the road and so weak it couldn’t even hold its head up.
The soaring temperatures had dried up nearby water sources and there weren’t enough native eucalyptus trees still standing for it to glean natural moisture from.
In the shade of some trees, the man offered some water to the parched koala. They even filled up some water in a bowl to let it cool off its paws!
The poor thing gulped the cool water streaming out of the bottle.
The man kept trying to entice the poor koala to dip in the old sink, but suddenly it reached out and grabbed the man’s hand as it held the water bottle.
With the man’s full attention on the koala, he offered it more water.
Even as the animal continued gulping, he never let go of his savior’s hand!
“This sweet little koala drank endlessly from a water bottle while we were doing our best to encourage it to move toward the sink we provided so it could cool its paws in the water.”
Watch the emotions the wild animal showed toward the man who helped save its life in the video below. It’s simply beautiful.
