A dog who saved more than 100 koalas from bushfires in Australia last year
has been honored with a gold medal for his bravery.
When he assisted in rescuing several koalas from the devastating Black
Summer bushfires last year, Bear the Australian koolie demonstrated his
prowess as a rescue dog.
In honor of his efforts, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
presented 6-year-old Bear with the special recognition award during a
ceremony held at the UK House of Lords last month.
In order to collect recognition for his work, Bear attended via video
connection at the Animal Action Awards with his handler Dr. Romane Cristescu
of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC).
"We believe that Bear deserves to win this prize. He's been such a
wonderful guy in assisting us in locating and rescuing numerous koalas,
particularly during the bushfires, but he works all year to support us in
our endeavors to provide a better and safer environment for koalas,
according to Cristescu, as reported by 9News.
We'll give Bear more pats and additional playtime in honor of his medal,
she continued.
In a press statement issued by USC on October 26, Dr. Cristescu stated:
"Bear and our team are collaborating with IFAW to examine the impacts of the
2019–20 bushfires on koala health and habitat density.
In addition, Bear often works with neighborhood rescue organizations to
find koalas for welfare rescue operations. As part of the various research
projects carried out by Detection Dogs for Conservation, he is always
willing to lend a paw in the search for koalas.
In order to monitor koalas that need to be rescued, Dr. Cristescu and the
USC Detection Dogs for Conservation team acquire and train rescue
dogs.
Dr. Cristescu stated in a previous interview that Bear's talents at
discovering stranded koalas are what made him a more demanding pet.
"When we seek for a new dog, we let everyone know about the rescue
organizations since sometimes what we look for in a dog makes them
challenging dogs," she added. Hence, the fixation with playing with strong
intensity.
The Australian state of New South Wales saw its worst-ever wildfire season
in 2019–20.
According to the Australian Government-run Australian Disaster Resilience
Knowledge Hub, 26 people died, 2,338 dwellings were damaged, and 5.5 million
hectares of land were burned in a matter of months.
Additionally, it stated that the "unprecedented" effects will be felt by
the state's residents, farmers, small companies, animals, and
bushland.