Sadness and grief are not exclusive to humans, as recently demonstrated by a rescue carried out in Australia by KOALA RESCUE Inc. in which a male koala was found crying for his dead companion, demonstrating the deep emotional bond that exists. among these animals.
The scene was recorded in Australia by a rescue team that went to the place where the two animals were after a man reported that one of them was not moving, although he could not determine if it had died. "It is always devastating to attend a rescue of a deceased koala, but it was even more heartbreaking to see the male koala holding and hugging the deceased koala," the group says in the viral video.
The rescue team, led by Hartley Head of KOALA RESCUE Inc., arrived at the scene and discovered that the female koala had died. However, what caught her attention was the presence of a male koala hugging her in a final gesture of companionship. "The compassionate behavior of the male koala was overwhelming and, at the same time, revealing of the deep emotional connection that these animals are capable of expressing," Head told The Dodo.
Despite the sadness of the moment, the rescuers were relieved by the surviving koala's health. After an evaluation that confirmed his good physical condition, he was released into a nearby tree, from where he watched the rescuers continue their work on him.
Apparently, according to the man who raised the alarm, the koala pair had been hanging around his house for weeks. The main theory of death is that the female fell from a tree, but there is no confirmation. Furthermore, they also don't know why the male stayed next to the corpse: "There is a possibility that they have been mating, but normally once the males have mated with the females, they just leave. So it is very, very strange." .
Koalas, emblems of Australian wildlife, face a series of increasing dangers that threaten their survival. Habitat loss due to logging and urban development, as well as the dangers of car traffic and disease, have caused an alarming decline in their populations.
Head is very concerned with the figures being used. "The increasing frequency of these incidents is worrying," said the rescuer, referring to the more than 440 koalas hit by vehicles in and around Adelaide since the organization was founded in August 2020.
Implementing more effective conservation measures and adopting stronger habitat protection policies could mitigate these impacts and help ensure the long-term survival of koalas in their natural environment.
