{"id":2538,"date":"2019-12-21T16:33:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T21:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/?p=2538"},"modified":"2019-12-21T18:33:56","modified_gmt":"2019-12-21T23:33:56","slug":"a-koalas-cry-on-the-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/wordpress\/mindful-activist\/a-koalas-cry-on-the-climate","title":{"rendered":"A Koala\u2019s Cry on the Climate"},"content":{"rendered":"

She named the koala Lewis \u2013 Ellenborough Lewis was his full name, after her grandchild. For a week in November we around the world saw only glimpses of him on video \u2013 his paws sticking out of a soft blanket, his slow and gingerly eating of green leaves a caregiver fed to him, or the large burn marks on his little body. Then he passed, euthanized on Nov. 26 when those caring for him determined that the miracle of his rescue would not be enough to sustain his life. In substance and light, his soul surely lives on<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One week before on Nov. 19, spotting the disoriented koala trying to climb a tree in a fully blazing bushfire, a woman in Australia, Toni Doherty, had thrown off her shirt and ran into the fire. She picked up the koala, who had been burned terribly, and ran carrying him through the fires out of the bush. Then, as her husband, Peter, brought a blanket for the koala, Toni doused and dabbed him with water. He cried in pain, short bursts of wailing. Doherty said later that she had never heard that sound before. <\/p>\n

The Dohertys were determined to save the koala. Quickly, they took him to the safety of their car and rushed him to the Koala Hospital of Port Macquerie<\/a>. There, veterinary staff and other caregivers had been treating a large number of koalas who had sustained burns in the raging bushfires in New South Wales and other parts of Australia.<\/p>\n

Lewis\u2019 prognosis was very uncertain and as the days went on, turned grim. For seven days, those in the Koala Hospital treated Lewis with round-the-clock care and substantial pain relief. He had sustained burns to his hands, feet, arms, and the inside of his legs. Some koalas were recovering, but those treating Lewis determined that his burns were getting worse and likely would not get better. They decided to put the koala to sleep on Nov. 26.<\/p>\n

A video of the rescue of Lewis drew attention all over the world, as millions viewed it. After first seeing the video, I watched it and others<\/a> several more times immediately, and have in the days since. As I did that day, I sobbed. The koala\u2019s cries as Doherty rescued him were very clear and piercing, and surely reflected intense pain from the burns and heat. <\/p>\n