Wildlife park owner stays behind to protect koalas as bushfires close in
The owner of a wildlife park in Australia vowed to stay and protect koalas as raging bushfires closed in yesterday.
Many residents and tourists on Kangaroo Island in South Australia fled with five minutes notices from the army after a flare-up near Parndana on Thursday afternoon.
The blaze is said to have broken containment lines as it burned out of control.
However, Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park owner Sam Mitchell and other staff stayed, risking their lives to save the more than 600 animals that live there.
Two people and an estimated 25,000 koalas – half the population – were killed when flames devastated Kangaroo Island last week.
Kangaroo Island Wildlife wrote today on Facebook: ‘Thank you to everyone for your messages and thoughts. The park is currently safe although we are still under threat.
‘Sam, our dad’s, brother and manager Billy are all at the park defending our an animals.
‘We are not out of the woods yet but have an amazing team protecting us.’
Mr Mitchell, who purchased the park with his partner Dana Jansen in 2013, said last week the destruction caused by the bushfires was ‘horrific’.
He told Sky News: ‘I’ve got some staff members that have gone into check on their properties and see what’s left and for every koala they see alive, they’re seeing 100 dead.’
He added: ‘Kangaroo Island is well known for our Koala population, which is considered to be Australia’s only disease-free population of koalas with well over 50 to 60,000.
‘Half of their prime habitat has been wiped out.’
Emergency warnings remain in place for the towns of Parndana and Vivonne Bay after they both came under direct threat on Thursday.
The Country Fire Service deputy incident controller, Ray Jackson, said a wind change came earlier than forecast and had pushed the fire fronts to the east yesterday.
There are fears another bushfire flare-up could see the number increase.
There are currently more than 145 Army Reservists and vehicles with supplies on Kangaroo Island to help with rescue missions, according to MailOnline.
A Water Treatment Plant that can produce up to 250,000 litres per day has also been established.
The fire has destroyed more than 160,000 hectares including most of the famed Flinders Chase National Park.
The CFS chief officer, Mark Jones, has warned the bushfires are ‘travelling quickly’.
He said. ‘What might have seemed safe this morning may not be safe by evening so we want people to get the message and to move away from the fire areas.’
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