A Female Koala Clung Tightly to the Deceased... A Heartfelt Mourning Scene

Rescue Group "A Rare Event... The Beauty of Nature"

A male koala was captured on camera hugging the fallen body of a female koala as if mourning her death, showing signs of sorrow.

A male koala alternates between looking at the sky and the deceased female, then embraces the female's body. [Image source=Koala Rescue Facebook]

On the 26th (local time), Australian media including 9 News reported that the local animal rescue group 'Koala Rescue' recently released a short video filmed at a rescue site on social media platforms such as Facebook. After receiving a report of two koalas in need of rescue, Koala Rescue headed to a forest in southern Adelaide. When the rescue team arrived, there was one pair of male and female koalas at the scene. However, the female koala was already deceased. Only the male was left by her side. At that moment, the rescue team captured the male koala appearing to grieve. The male alternated between looking at the fallen female and the sky, then bent down to embrace her. He wrapped his arms around her and even rested his head against her.

A male koala alternates between looking at the sky and the already deceased female, holding the female's body close. [Image source=Koala Rescue Instagram]

The rescue team said, "Witnessing such a scene is very rare even for our rescuers." They explained that since koalas are not social animals, it is uncommon to see such expressions. The team added, "Rescuing koalas and taking care of those that have died is always difficult, but this time it was especially heartbreaking. This scene shows that koalas are capable of empathy and care. The male’s reaction to death reveals the beauty of nature." After checking the male koala’s health and confirming he was in good condition, the team collected the female’s body and released the male back into the wild.

Koalas are one of the animals symbolizing Australia, but their population has sharply declined over the past 20 years. In 2022, local governments along the eastern coast, including Queensland and New South Wales, which are the main habitats of koalas, announced that koalas would be designated as an endangered species and managed accordingly. Causes of population decline include repeated large-scale wildfires, habitat destruction due to mining, residential and agricultural development, and logging. According to research by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), after the wildfires of 2019?2020, the koala population in six northern coastal areas of New South Wales decreased by 71%. Estimated population numbers dropped from about 185,000 in 2001 to approximately 92,000 in 2021, roughly halving. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that as of 2023, between 38,000 and 63,000 koalas remain in the wild.