PORT MACQUARIE, Australia — A koala has died just days after his dramatic rescue from an Australian wildfire was caught on camera, a New South Wales animal hospital announced Tuesday.
According to CNN, rescuers at Port Macquarie Koala Hospital euthanized the 14-year-old koala – known as Ellenborough Lewis, or Lewis for short – after veterinarians determined that his condition wasn't improving.
"We recently posted that 'burns (sic) injuries can get worse before they get better,'" the hospital wrote on its Facebook page. "In Ellenborough Lewis's case, the burns did get worse, and unfortunately would not have gotten better."
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The sad update came one week after Toni Doherty saved the marsupial from a massive blaze near Long Flat, CNN reported. In a now-viral video shared by Nine News Australia, the woman whisks the koala away from the flames before pouring cool water on the injured animal.
By Tuesday, the clip, shared on Nine News' Facebook page, had been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
In a Facebook post last week, the Koala Hospital hailed Doherty as a hero.
"She is an absolute legend for capturing this male koala who was so disorientated by the flames and unfortunately was burnt further as he headed back into the active fire," the post read.