A video of a koala embracing a stuffed bear after losing her mother in a bushfire has captured hearts online.
American vet Paul Ramos was in Australia to help treat animals affected by the fires when he captured the touching moment on video on February 2nd.
Ramos gave the orphaned koala the stuffed bear while she was being treated at the Koroit veterinary clinic in Victoria's south-west, the Daily Mail reported.
The marsupial was being held by an unidentified woman when she grabbed at the bear and nuzzled her face into it.
Ramos shared the video to his Instagram account on February 7 which now has over 17,000 views.
In the post he wrote "This little girl unfortunately just lost her mother. People and Nature: Truly we are all connected and we can, and must do better".
He said he was thankful for the community who are caring for the injured animals.
"To the wildlife carers, local community and wildlife vets who will step in to take care of her and hopefully, release her back to the wild."
"It’s amazing how communities come together when times call for it, how people just feel a need to do good things, because we are all connected," he wrote in a separate post.
Commenters on his Instagram, many of whom are from America, talked about how "cute" the video was but said it was also upsetting to see.
They described the situation the koala and many other animals were in as "heartbreaking".
Ramos has been sharing photos of bandaged wallabies and the burnt hands of kangaroos he has treated to his Instagram page which show the reality of the danger to wildlife in Australia.
