A kookaburra, perched on a branch in the smoke-filled area at Wallabi Point in New South Wales, gazes at a woodland completely engulfed in flames.
More than 150 fires broke out in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, temperatures up to 37 degrees, hot and dry winds that quickly spread the flames: it is a real disaster what is being consumed in these hours in Australia and to suffer from it is also and especially the animal world.
Not only are the images of the injured koala moving, but also that of a native Australian bird that appears to be staring at a distant forest fire. Shared thousands of times, the image immediately went viral.
It is kookaburra, also known as dacelo, which, perched on a branch in the smoke-filled area at Wallabi Point in New South Wales, looks out over a woodland completely engulfed in flames.
The image was taken by Adam Stevenson, who then shared it on Facebook, when he returned to the area after being evacuated four days earlier, and it immediately became emblematic of the dramatic emergency of the fires developed in the last hours in Australia.
Adam Stevenson said he saw many injured wildlife as he walked after returning to his neighborhood on Monday.
Bush fires are common in Australia's hot, dry summers, but the ferocity and early arrival of the fires in this year's southern spring took many by surprise. The flames that do not subside have destroyed farmland and bushes, fueled by extremely dry conditions after three years of drought, and brought several communities to their knees.
This image was captured around Wallabi Point, New South Wales.What do you think this kookie is thinking about? ? Adam Stevenson
Posted by Australian Geographic on Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Read also:
- Hundreds of koalas have likely died in the fires in Australia
- Koalas are dying burnt alive in fires in Australia - they could go extinct within 30 years
Germana Carillo
Photo: Adam Stevenson
