Heartwrenching video has been released showing a koala appearing to mourn a dead friend.
Koala Rescue shared what it said was “heartbreaking” footage of the male koala grieving his lost mate by hugging the dead animal’s body.
“(We) received a call from a most concerned member of the public, who reported that they had found a koala on the ground at the base of a tree,” it said.
“However, there was also a second koala involved. On arrival the rescuer located both a deceased adult female koala and a second adult male koala.
“It is always devastating to attend a rescue involving a deceased koala, but it was even more heartbreaking to witness the male koala actually holding and hugging the deceased koala.”
Rescuers had been called to Coromandel Valley, south-east of Adelaide, to help the pair but there was nothing that could be done for the female.
(9 news)