A koala who went viral after heartbreaking photos of his bushfire injuries were posted online has died.
Images of Billy's paws wrapped in blue bandages caught the attention of thousands of people after he was rescued from Kenton Valley in the Adelaide Hills with bad burns, 7News Australia reported.
On Wednesday, his carers at Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue posted news of his death on Instagram.
"Dear Billy didn't make it to the end of his recovery journey. He was doing so well, until one day, he just wasn't," the post said.
"Early one morning, as the sun came up and the birds started to sing, he closed his beautiful eyes and went to sleep.
"The stress of his experience in the fire proved too much for his little body to heal from."
The post describes how his carers are brokenhearted, but they're comforted to imagine him climbing the big gum tree in the sky.
"Sleep tight Billy, we miss you."
Comments on the post mourned Billy's death, and many thanked the koala rescuers for their dedicated efforts to take care of him.
"So very sad to hear this, thank you for your amazing work."
"This feels so crushing, I didn't even know him but I'm devastated. Thank you so much to his carers, I know they did everything humanly possible."
"Rest in peace sweet Billy. You were such a strong fighter and didn't deserve this fate. Sleep peacefully sweet one."
Since his rescue on December 23, Billy's recovery journey was being documented on the Adelaide and Hills Koala Rescue Instagram page.
He had two of his four paw bandages removed on January 10, and rescuers were confident at the time he would make a full recovery.
More than 800 million animals are estimated to have died in the New South Wales bushfires alone - which have been raging since September - Time magazine reported. This figure includes at least 25,000 koalas.
