The late Steve Irwin left behind a legacy after his passing; an iconic zoo and a family who matched his passion for wildlife. The Australia Zoo was taken over by Steve’s wife, Terri, after his passing. Bindi Irwin, Steve’s daughter, took to her Instagram to announce that they recently treated their 90,000th patient at the hospital located at the zoo, a number that has grown due to the devastating fires currently at large throughout Australia.
The Australian bushfires that have been occurring since last year is a phenomenon that the world has never seen before. Causes for the overwhelming damages have been stated as record-breaking heat and drought, lightning strikes, arson and lack of hazard reduction. With the fires still continuing, it’s difficult to see an end anytime soon.
Due to the mayhem caused by the fires, all eyes of the world are drawn towards Australia, its people, and its wildlife. Celebrities are taking to their social media accounts to draw awareness on how to help and also to provide aid to the suffering continent. Bindi Irwin recently posted the below picture on her Instagram with a caption that read ‘we are SAFE. There are no fires near us the Australia Zoo or our conservation properties.’
“Our Wildlife Hospital is busier than ever though, having officially treated over 90,000 patients. My parents dedicated our Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to my beautiful grandmother. We will continue to honor her by being Wildlife Warriors and saving as many lives as we can” says Bindi.
Robert Irwin also posted the below picture of him holding a baby fruit bat on his Instagram and captioned it saying ‘Bear’ is one of the hundreds of baby fruit bats that lost their homes in the horrific NSW fires.’ He also went on to say that he and his family are doing everything that they can to help and treat as many animals as possible.
The damage that the hellish flames of the fires have caused is as follows: 6,300,000 hectares (16,000,000 acres; 63,000 km2; 24,000 sq mi) were burnt, along with 2,500 buildings (including over 1,300 houses). As of January 4th, 2020, 24 people perished in the fires and 6 others are reported missing in the state of Victoria. It is feared that an estimated half a billion animals were either lost to the fires or will likely starve due to loss of the food source and habitat. Australia’s environment minister says that up to 30% of koalas were killed in New South Wales mid-north coast fires
Shamindri Jayawarna has always loved reading and writing. Mindy (her nickname) pursues content writing as a part time job while following an Undergraduate program in Business Management. A lover of Game of Thrones and many other tv series/movies, Shamindri also spends her free time listening to music, reading books and playing with her pets.
