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Fireman hailed as hero
The Australian firefighter had rescued a thirsty koala suffering burns in a bushfire. -AFP
Sat, Feb 14, 2009
AFP
MELBOURNE - AN AUSTRALIAN firefighter who came to the rescue of a thirsty koala that suffered burns in a bushfire was on Saturday honoured as a hero by global animal rights activists.
Sam the koala became a star on video-sharing website YouTube after she was filmed drinking from the water bottle of fireman Dave Tree, who found the scorched marsupial in a eucalypt forest during a blaze earlier this month.
The video became a worldwide hit when it was posted on YouTube last week after wildfires killed 81 people, destroyed 1,800 homes and chewed through 450,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) in southeastern Victoria state.
Now Mr Tree, 44, has been rewarded for his compassion by rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) which gave him its Hero to Animals Award.
'The compassion that David Tree showed in caring for Sam is an inspiration to others throughout the community and beyond,' said Peta Director Jason Baker.
Sam is slowly recovering from severe burns she received on Feb 1 in backburning operations aimed at containing one of a series of bushfires that later went on to wreak unprecedented death and destruction.
The worst wildfires in Australia's history tore through rural Victorian towns on Feb 7, leaving at least 181 dead with more victims expected to be discovered in the ashes.
Video of Sam eagerly drinking water from a bottle offered by Mr Tree scored almost 150,000 hits on YouTube in just two days last week, making her the unofficial mascot of hope for human victims of the fires.
Peta called on authorities to add cruelty to animals to the arson charge laid against a 39-year-old man on Friday in connection with a bushfire in rural Victoria state that killed 21 people.
'The defendant faces 21 counts of murder, and Peta also wants to see him charged with cruelty to animals (as) it has been reported that over a million native animals may have been killed in the fires in Victoria, including kangaroos, koalas, possums, lizards and birds,' Peta said in a statement.
'This tragedy has shown the best and worst in people,' Mr Baker said. 'Because scores of animals weren't as lucky as Sam, Peta is strongly urging the prosecutor to pursue cruelty-to-animals charges.' Sam's recovery in an animal shelter is being helped by a little tender love and care from her new boyfriend, fellow koala Bob.
'He puts his arm around her and comforts her. They're very sociable,' Ms Jenny Shaw of the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson, Victoria state, told AFP earlier.
Animal rescue workers said the two marsupial fire survivors were doing well but it would be four or five months before they would be ready for release back into the mountain ranges of Victoria. -- AFP
