While millions of people around the world were waiting to usher in a new decade, Australia was suffering from one of its worst bushfire crises ever.
31-year-old Rachel Yeo, a Singaporean zookeeper at Mogo Wildlife Park in New South Wales, recounted “the most terrifying day of [her] life” on New Year’s Eve when she drove towards the fire to save the animals residing there.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), emergency evacuation instructions had been issued by the fire authorities in the town of Mogo, as the massive bushfire threatened to “overwhelm the community”.
In spite of the warnings, Ms Yeo was determined to save the animals and reportedly rushed back to Mogo Wildlife Park. She said,
I had to make sure they were safe and that was just my priority.
The trip to the zoo was the “loneliest” drive of her life — everyone else was driving away from the fires.
At that time, Ms Yeo had joined the park for less than a month. However, she was determined to help the animals at the park, which she saw as family.
Despite her bravery, the smoke and heat from the fire made Ms Yeo feel as if she’s bracing herself for a “monster”.
The zoo’s director Mr Chad Staples said “it was like Armageddon… [the sky] was black as midnight with tinges of red”.
The fires eventually took the lives of 2 people and destroyed over 176 houses in Mogo.
The zoo has about 200 animals, including monkeys, lions, rhinos and giraffes, many of which were too large or too dangerous to evacuate safely despite the staff’s best efforts.
Miraculously, none of the animals was hurt in the fires, thanks to the staff’s valiant efforts.
Just as it was frightening for Ms Yeo, she shared that it must have been worse for the animals,
Every biological instinct tells you to run. I can only imagine what the animals were going through.
In total, the zoo is managed by 15 staff, including Ms Yeo, who steeled themselves to fight the fires.
When spot fires allegedly broke out due to embers carried by the wind, the brave staff helped extinguish them.
Source
Mr Staples added that the sheer impact and size of the fires exceeded his expectations, with the park being “cornered” by the fire.
Thankfully, the wind direction changed, putting an end to the frenzy.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up to raise money for the zoo’s recovery. As of the time of this article, the crowdfunding page has raised a total of S$92,486 (AUD $99,423).
If you would like to help, you can donate here. Please note that this is the only official GoFundMe page that is acknowledged by the zoo.
Kudos to the zookeepers for their love and dedication towards the animals.
We hope that the crisis will end soon and that the Australian communities affected will recover as well.
Featured image adapted from CNA and Facebook.
The caregiver in the video is not an employee of Aseana Caregivers, it said.
Rescue personnel successfully found the shoes before sending him to the hospital.
Crack open a cold one for a chance to win up to S$88,888.
Locals chucked dead chickens at the croc to get it to free the woman.
The same illness took his mother's life six years ago.
Locals believe the man was in contact with an occultist due to his struggle with…