Since devastating bushfires began ravaging Australia, reams of heartbreaking photos have illustrated the impact the blazes have had on the country and its wildlife.

Pictures taken in New South Wales show a badly burnt kangaroo seeking help from a teenage boy, who doused the marsupial with water and gave it a bowl to drink from. This helpless animal got off lightly though, in the grand scheme of things.
Earlier this week, ecologists estimated that around 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles have died as a result of bushfires in the country.
Many species have been affected in Australia – which is home to various indigenous fauna including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, wombats, and echidnas – but koalas are feared to be among the hardest hit, with an estimated 30% of just one koala colony on the country’s northeast coast thought to be lost. Authorities confirmed on Saturday that two people were killed on Kangaroo Island after flames appeared to overrun their vehicle – taking the total death toll from the current bushfires to 23. A further six people are missing.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated across the country, while 1,500 homes have already been destroyed by the fires.