Little piece of Australia in Columbia, how Riverbanks Zoo is hoping to inspire people to help

Animals are losing their homes and their lives because of the Australian brush fires, which aren't expected to slow down anytime soon.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) – Animals are losing their homes and their lives because of the Australian brush fires, which aren’t expected to slow down anytime soon. There’s a little part of Australia at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, where staff say they hope their Australian animals inspire people to help.

“We don’t know the impact, but we know it’s going to be severe,” said John Davis, Director of Animal Care and Welfare at Riverbanks.

Koalas especially are being hit hard, as they survive entirely off  the eucalyptus trees which are going up in flames.

“It’s absolutely devastating because these trees are completely going up in flames, they’re no longer there so essentially, koalas no longer have a home,” said Alexa Godfrey, a Cat/Bear Keeper at Riverbanks. “Absolutely devastating to see animals that we take care of every day, that we are lucky enough to spend time with every day, dying and perishing and becoming extremely injured from these fires. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s very hard to watch.”

Many koalas are suffering serious burns and dehydration, and those that survive are looking at a significant loss of their habitat.

“They want to stay in their trees, their trees are their life source, their trees are their homes. They’re the most protected in their trees, so even when the tree is on fire they’re still clinging to the trees. Unfortunately, they’re having to evacuate those trees and their feet are getting burned in the process,” said Godfrey.

There are 25 different species of animals from Australia at Riverbanks; including the koalas, wallabies and lorikeets.

“It’s not just the koalas and the red kangaroos that are suffering, it’s the smaller invertebrates and the birds that depend on these habitats,” said Davis.

Lottie is a 17-year-old koala that is helping the species. In her time at Riverbanks, she’s birthed 11 joeys–or babies.

“They’ve gone on and moved to other zoos and also produced offspring that puts her at 14 grand-koalas shall we say, 6 great-grand koalas and actually she has a great-great-grand koala,” said Davis.

Being able to help the species will be a priority, as the koala population has been severely damaged by the fire.

“Not many people will be able to make it to Australia and see these guys in the wild. And with the fires happening, it’s a huge population damage. So these guys might become endangered, and events like this often lead to extinction,” said Godfrey.

By visiting Lottie and the other Australian animals and learning about them, staff hope to inspire people to help in any way possible.

“I think Steve Irwin really said it the best, that people really want to protect the things that they love. And so my hope for when people come to Riverbanks they make a connection with our wildlife counterparts that we have here,” said Godfrey.

Riverbanks is asking people who wish to help to donate to either Zoos Victoria or the World Wildlife Fund.