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Famous Koala On The Mend, Has A Valentine

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The Associated Press

Published: February 13, 2009

SYDNEY - Sam the koala, the most famous furry survivor of Australia's worst-ever wildfires, is healing well thanks to the efforts of caretakers at a rescue shelter, and she even has a new boyfriend.

Sam, who captured hearts around the world after she was photographed drinking from a firefighter's water bottle, also has won the affection of Bob, another koala whose paws were scorched in the weekend's inferno, caretaker Lynn Raymond said Thursday.

"Bob is her protector. As soon as she is moved, he's on the move, too. It really looks like he's making sure she's OK," Raymond said from the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson, 100 miles east of Melbourne in Victoria state, where the deadly fires continue to burn. "They're good company for each other."

Neither koala is likely to be healthy enough for release for at least four months, and they are being comforted by caretakers who salve their scorched paws every few hours.

Global interest in the fate of Sam has been intense since a photograph of firefighter David Tree offering her a bottle of water in a burned-out forest was splashed across the Internet, in newspapers and on television broadcasts. The telephone at the shelter has rung incessantly with callers eager for an update on the creature's condition.

"It's insane," Raymond said with a laugh. But "everybody has been absolutely wonderful."

Often mistakenly called bears because they resemble a child's teddy bear, koalas are marsupials.

Sam and Tree were reunited at the shelter Wednesday, a meeting that left the firefighter fighting back tears.

"When I saw her, I was just overwhelmed," Tree said Thursday. "I got a bit choked up, got a bit of a gut rise."

Also Thursday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ordered that military bases be opened to house some of the more than 5,000 people who lost homes in the blazes. At least 181 people have been killed, but officials say the toll could top 200.

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