WASHINGTON — Volunteers are answering a call to sew mittens for koalas burned in Australian bush fires.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare Thursday announced plans to help koalas threatened by recent bush fires in southeastern Australia.
“Injuries to paws, claws, face and ears are common and tiny joeys can often only wait in burning trees, crying for their mothers. I’ve worked with wildlife rescuers after fires and they tell me about seeing koala babies actually sitting in the trees crying,” Josey Sharrad, with IFAW, wrote.
Some of the slow-moving creatures that were rescued suffered burns to their paws, which need to be treated and wrapped in bandages. The koalas then need special mittens – which require daily changing – to cover those bandages.
That’s where the volunteers come in.
A spokesperson for the IFAW tells TODAY more than 500 pairs of mittens have already been pledged.
“Some people are making up to 100 mittens,” she told TODAY. “It’s fantastic. We didn’t expect this response. We’ve been inundated, and it’s been brilliant.”
Completed mittens can be mailed to the following address:
IFAW
6 Belmore St.
Surry Hills
Sydney NSW 2010, Australia.
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