Run-over koala 'resurrects' with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in Australia

Melbourne (AFP) - Australia was celebrating on Friday the heroic gesture of a wildlife protection officer who rescued a severely injured koala by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The agents had to take action Thursday in Langwarrin, on the outskirts of south-east Melbourne, to try to save a koala hit by a car.

On arrival, the firefighters found the small marsupial clinging to a tree. “We thought he was dead. But then it fell and we collected it in a blanket, ”said Captain Sean Curtin, quoted by Fairfax radio.

At this time, a wildlife protection officer decided to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the injured animal, along with a cardiac massage. The scene, shot by an amateur cameraman, kept circulating on social networks this Friday. The saved koala is now recovering in a refuge and, according to its caregivers, "is fine and is eating."

Australia's koala population, estimated at over ten million before the arrival of British settlers in 1788, has fallen to just 43, 000 today. However, it is difficult to make an exact census because of their way of life, which runs largely on top of the trees. Koalas continue to be threatened by habitat depletion, vehicle traffic and dog attacks.

Via InAbstract