A heartbreaking video of a koala licking rainwater off a road has captured the internet's attention.
The footage, taken at Moree, New South Wales on Thursday, shows a thirsty koala standing in the middle of the road licking rainwater off the road as a boy pats the endangered native.
Pamela Schramm's family were driving home shopping when they saw the marsupial in the middle of Croppa More Rd.
The thirsty koala would have been on the road because most of its habitat has been burned in the massive bushfires across the state.
Marsupials get their water supply from eucalyptus trees. In November, more than half an entire koala colony was believed to be wiped out in the fires.
Koala Conservation Australia President Sue Ashton described the wildfires sweeping across the land as a "cremation".
"They have been burnt to ashes in the trees."
The bushfires have had a devastating impact on wildlife populations. In early January ecologists from the University of Sydney estimated 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have died.
At least 6.3 million hectares of land across the country has been burned since the start of the 2019 fire season.
Although rain has finally fallen across Australia, the water has brought the problem of flooding. Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) forecaster Kimba Wong called the torrential rain in Queensland, to the north, a "one-in-100-year-event".
Poor animals who suffered severe heatwaves are now having to be rescued from dangerous waters in New South Wales too.
On Friday, Staff at the Australian Reptile Park scrambled to relocate animals after the massive storm brought torrential rain and flash-flooding. The park was closed so staff could focus on protecting the animals, sandbagging doorways and sweeping water out of buildings.
Images from the park's Facebook page show staff running through near knee-deep water carrying soaking wet koalas.
