Heartbreaking footage has emerged of a koala appearing to mourn the death of its female companion.
South Australia’s Koala Rescue Inc was contacted by a ‘very concerned’ member of the public after coming across two distressed koalas at the base of a tree.
Hartley, the rescuer on duty, traveled to the Coromandel Valley, southeast of Adelaide, to help the pair, but soon discovered that one of the koalas had died.
Footage shared on the volunteer group’s Facebook page on Friday showed an adult male koala crouched and hugging the body of a dead female koala.
A rescuer from South Australia’s Koala Rescue Inc found a male koala huddled over the body of a dead female koala at the base of a tree in the Coromandel Valley, southeast of Adelaide.
The heartbreaking video was shared on the volunteer group’s Facebook page, with many social media users claiming the footage brought them to tears
“(We) received a call from a very concerned member of the public reporting that they had found a koala on the ground at the base of a tree,” the caption read.
‘However, a second koala was also involved. Upon arrival, the rescuer found both a deceased adult female koala and a second adult male koala.
‘It is always devastating to attend a rescue operation involving a deceased koala, but it was even more heartbreaking to see the male koala actually holding and hugging the deceased koala.’
Koala Rescue Inc explained the behavior had never been seen before by rescuers and said it provided a rare insight into the true nature of Australia’s animals.
‘It is always devastating to attend a rescue operation involving a deceased koala, but it was even more heartbreaking to see the male koala actually holding and hugging the deceased koala.’
“This type of behavior is rarely observed by our rescuers, but confirms the empathetic and caring nature of koalas,” the report said.
‘This male koala’s reaction to death truly represents the truly beautiful nature that koalas can display.’
Rescuer Hartley collected both koalas and after ensuring the male was in good condition, released him in a nearby area.
Social media users were left in tears after watching the video, saying the footage was “heartbreaking.”
‘This is the saddest video ever. I’m crying, my heart is broken,” one person commented.
“Oh god, I know it’s natural, but good God, the sound of that little heart breaking thing is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard,” someone else wrote.
‘This is absolutely heartbreaking. His little cries. Poor little thing. It just goes to show that animals have the same feelings as us,” said a third.
Koalas are in serious decline and suffer the consequences of habitat destruction, attacks by domestic dogs, bushfires and road accidents.
According to the Australian Koala Foundation, the koala population is estimated at a maximum of 63,665 individuals in the wild in 2023, with as few as 38,648 possible.
Research from the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia shows the koala population declined by 71 per cent following the 2019-20 bushfires in six locations on the NSW north coast.