Rescued Koala 'Ellenborough Lewis' Dies From Injuries

Ellenborough Lewis, the koala that was rescued by a daring grandmother amidst a bushfire in New South Wales, has died.

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital posted on their Facebook page that they have decided to put the koala to sleep after his burns worsened overtime.

“We placed him under general anaesthesia this morning to assess his burn injuries and change the bandages," they said.

“We recently posted that 'burns injuries can get worse before they get better.' In Ellenborough Lewis' case, the burns did get worse,” the post said.

The decision to put Ellenborough Lewis to sleep came in consonance with the hospital's animal welfare efforts.

The koala had been receiving round-the-clock care and under “substantial pain relief” to mitigate the pain brought by severe burns in his hands, feet, arms and legs since last week, said USA Today.

Peter Doherty, who spoke with 9News in behalf of his wife, Toni, said that at some point, they were hopeful that Ellenborough Lewis could survive the tragedy.

“We are naturally very sad about this, as we were hoping he'd pull through but we accept his injuries were severe and debilitating and would have been quite painful,” he said, adding that they were in the hospital when the decision was made.

Ellenborough Lewis' rescue spread all over the Internet after a 9News cameraman documented Toni Doherty running through the inferno to rescue the koala. She wrapped her shirt around the animal and doused his body with water.

“It was terrifying to see him just come out of the flames. He looked so defenseless running along the road,” she said.

Ellenborough Lewis was one of at least 30 koalas that are being treated at the The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, said USA Today.