"Tanya’s art reflection should bring tears to the eye of all animal lovers"

I am not a fan of the In the picture feature in the Star Let’s Talk pages. It usually portrays photographs with no debatable value and of limited interest to your readers, such as looking at a train engine for example.

However, if photographs or art reflections of the calibre of the one sent in by Tanya Vickers are the new order of the day, I could well be persuaded to change my opinion.

Her artistic work showing a volunteer Australian firefighter holding a frightened koala bear set against a fiery background should bring tears to the eye of all animal lovers – and it certainly gives food for thought to readers who may be interested in the following facts about the bushfires and our koala friend.

So far, more than 10 million hectares have been burnt, equivalent to 40 per cent of the entire UK. At least 27 human lives have been lost and 2000 buildings destroyed.

More than 1.25 billion animals have been killed as a result of the fires, including 30 per cent of the entire koala population in New South Wales. Australia has already lost 95 per cent of their koalas and they could become extinct in a matter of decades.

While the animal is commonly referred to as a bear it is in fact a marsupial and carries its young in a pouch. It eats only eucalyptus leaves, so much so that it smells like the leaves. It hops from tree to tree to forage for food and can consume 2.5 pounds a day.

They live in the wild along the coastlines of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

Readers will appreciate the threat that the bushfires pose to the koala – not just physically, but also in cutting off their only food supply by destroying the eucalyptus trees.

Australia deserves all the support which we can give to help combat the fires and safeguard the lives and future existence of our animal friends – not least the ‘cuddly’ koala.