The Australian woman who was seen in a viral video using her shirt to rescue a koala from a wildfire visited him Wednesday at an animal hospital.
Workers at the hospital gave Toni Doherty a hero’s welcome for saving the animal’s life.
The koala is now named Lewis after one of Doherty’s seven grandchildren.
Just 24 hours ago, the koala was caught in a dangerous wildfire, having nowhere to go to escape the flames.
"He had had flames up on his back legs, so I just covered him with my t-shirt, managed to get him off the tree and it was so hot and just run to, where it was more open,” Doherty said.
Dousing him with water and giving him something to drink, she then wrapped him up and brought him to the koala hospital.
“I knew if we didn't get him down from the tree then he would have been up there amongst the flames,” Doherty said.
Hospital clinic director Cheyne Flanagan said Lewis is badly burnt on his hands, feet, under his arms and his nose.
Even still, Lewis may be one of the lucky ones. Fourteen koalas that were injured in fires this month have been brought to the hospital for treatment.
Officials fear as many as 350 died at a nature reserve.
“It's pretty devastating, it's going to have a major impact on the populations of koalas in this region,” Flanagan said.
Lewis may be able to help with that. He could now join a breeding program because he’s too badly burned to be released back into the wild.
As Lewis recovers, hospital staff say he'll get extra fluids and food.