Animalia Wildlife Shelter revealed that a koala called Arnie, who was rescued after suffering burns in the ongoing bush-fires, passed away after firefighters let him drink from a water bottle.
The group wrote on Facebook that “they didn’t know that koalas usually get most of their water via the gum leaves that they eat and they don’t often drink water, but when they do, they are face down and lapping small amounts with their tongue.
“They didn’t know that when a koala holds it head up and takes in too much water, it can easily get in to their lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia, which is usually fatal.”
They added that this was what happened to Arnie. “Despite a mammoth rescue effort involving all three emergency services and wildlife rescuers he died… more specifically he drowned.”
This does not mean that rescuers should not give water to the thirsty animals. Rather than letting them drink from bottles, however, they should put a bowl of water on the ground and let the animals drink from it face down.
