Kelowna’s Brad Pattison has provided an update on his team’s work rescuing animals from the devastating wildfires in Australia.
Via a series of Facebook videos, Pattison shares details from the team's efforts working in the wildfire-ravaged bush area of New South Wales.
"You can smell the decay of so many animals," explains Pattison in one video while trekking to rescue an injured kangaroo.
"The emotional rollercoaster we all go through is insane… it's exhilarating, and draining, and exciting and heartbreaking all in one."
All animals managed to be rescued by the team, including one blue-tongued lizard with a badly burned eye, are taken to a compound where they are treated and fed.
On his Facebook page, Pattison has detailed the recovery process of one baby roo that lost its mother in the fires.
Experts estimate that more a billion animals have perished since the fires began in November and that number will likely continue to grow.
Pattison has previously led animal rescue teams in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Haiti after an earthquake in 2010 and Calgary after flooding in 2013.
A GoFundMe to support the five-person volunteer team heading to Australia, if you’d like to donate and help their efforts, click this link.
WITH FILES FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS.
