Travelers heading to the state of Victoria in Australia have a unique opportunity to engage with wildlife following the bushfires.
Many organizations lent a hand to help animals affected by the fires, and visitors can learn about how funds that were raised by numerous organizations worked to save Australia's wild creatures.
For example, during the bushfires in late December and early January, Zoos Victoria launched the Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund.
Money given to this organization was raised for emergency veterinary assistance to affected animals. Among those animals were kangaroos, Charlotte and Webb, who were brought into the Mallacoota triage center, and Tippy and Jellybean, who were rescued near Bairnsdale.
The kangaroos received treatment from Zoos Victoria's veterinarians and nurses, and then both sets of mothers and joeys were released back into the wild in an area marked safe.
Visitors can head to Zoos Victoria to learn more about the conservation efforts that are underway to prevent the extinction of Australia's endangered animals.
Another organization, Echidna Walkabout, has introduced a new experience to support koala recovery within Victoria.
The Koala Recovery Experience plants trees for koalas on private farmland in the Great Western Plains near Melbourne, and visitors can participate in educational walks with koala researchers in addition to contributing to the rebuilding of koala habitats.
Tours will run through July and August and include one-, two- and three-day conservation experiences.
Another experience, coming midway through the year, is Wildlife Wonders a unique ecotourism experience located along the iconic Great Ocean Road in the township of Apollo Bay.
Visitors have the chance to take a 45-minute guided tour accompanied by a conservationist guide during which guests are able to see koalas in the treetops, kangaroos hopping alongside the ocean and native Australian wildlife species foraging on the forest floor.
The idea for the experience came from founder Lizzy Corke who has been at the forefront of developing solutions to the most urgent conservation challenges in the Otways region.
In January 2020, Corke received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her for service to conservation and the environment.
Also in Victoria, Moonlit Sanctuary is another organization dedicated to helping save Australia's endangered wildlife from extinction. Species they are working to save from extinction include the Yellow-bellied Glider, Tasmanian Devil, Squirrel Glider, Spot-tailed Quoll, Regent Honeyeater, Orange-bellied Parrot, Helmeted Honeyeater and the Bush Stone-curlew.
Visitors have the chance to have a variety of different animal encounters, including feedings wallabies, night tours, attending keeper talks or trying out being a keeper for a day.
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