After the success of a public campaign to make mittens for burned koalas, an animal welfare group in Australia is now asking that pouches be made for wayward and orphaned kangaroos and wallabies too, ABC News reported on Monday.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare said that Joeys, or baby marsupials, need attention from giving donors after a recent natural disaster. The group said that, luckily, they have plenty of koala mittens to go around.
Gabby the Western Grey Kangaroo was abandoned by her mother after a bush fire. The need for the koala mittens was spurred by this incident, which swept through South Australia due to its dry summer season.
Kangaroos, like the koalas, have suffered burned paws from running to escape the flames. Therefore, the kangaroos need help from the public in the form of homemade pouch-like environments in five sizes.
The pouches keep little joeys warm and will act as a diaper, needing to be changed several times a day. The pouches, like mittens, must be made of 100 percent cotton.
"Gabby was found in extreme pain due to badly burnt feet and paws she sustained whilst fleeing the fire ground," the Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organization said on its website.
"What started off as a local campaign, just asking the Australian public has just absolutely gone global and viral," an IFAW said, according to the Washington Post. "We're now getting offers from as far afield as Russia, Kazakhstan, China, the U.K. and the U.S."
