Thanks to donations and volunteer work, organizations have been able to rescue and begin rehabilitating countless animals from the deadly bushfires in Australia.
Yet the billions of animals that died and those still dying looms over every happy story of animals being saved.
Amidst the countless videos of injured and burned animals that have been posted during the fires, one heartbreaking photo that a father posted of his son has gone viral.
Australian wildlife expert Tim Faulkner, famed for hosting Australian TV ABC's Outback Adventures shared a heartbreaking encounter that he and his family experienced in the wake of the fires. According to Yahoo News Australia, the Faulkner family found what appeared to be a recently deceased wallaby while on a trip to Barrington Tops in New South Wales.
The family began to cry when Faulkner's 7-year-old son, Matthew, decided that he wanted to hold the animal to "look after it", Faulkner explained. Faulkner captured the moment and then posted the sad photo along with others on Facebook.
He captioned the powerful photo:
"Everything is dying…"
"I went out to provide food drops and check our cameras for the endangered Brush-tailed rock-wallaby, I ended up feeling like I was showing my little boy his future."
"He cradled the dead wallaby, found near a muddy puddle of water. The smoke plumes lifting from the wild fire in the backdrop and he said, 'They're all dying aren't they Dad?' I told him it was his job to save the world, it was the best I could do. He accepted."
"If this photo doesn't speak a thousand words I don't know what else will."
"Almost all wild Brush-tailed rock-wallaby habitat has burnt or is at imminent risk. They are starving, dehydrated, exposed to predators, and dying."
The Faulkner family captured photos of wallabies eating the food they put out for them.
Tim Faulkner/Facebook
Faulkner continued in his Facebook post:
"A second wallaby was found on the road after it had been forced to the roads fleeing fires."
Tim Faulkner/Facebook
He concluded by saying:
"I'm so proud of my amazing family for dropping everything to help where we can, they are my heroes."
Tim Faulkner/Facebook
He also urged people who were touched by the image to donate to Aussie Ark.
"Support our cause, donate to Aussie Ark."
Founded in 2011, Aussie Ark is a non-profit organization that focuses on native Australian wildlife conservation. According to their website, their flora and fauna rich sanctuaries house 50 species of mammals, 42 species of reptiles, 18 species of frog, and 278 species of birds.
By providing protected habitats to vulnerable species, they have had great success in raising populations of animals and reintroducing them back into the wild.
You can donate to Aussie Ark here.
People expressed their grief for the animals that have been killed.
Kerrie Jones/Facebook
Vikki Coates/Facebook
Donna Yetman DeJardine/Facebook
Janet Hill/Facebook
Though the situation is dire, people were able to express hope for the future.
Rosario Ayela Gadea/Facebook
Glenda Porta/Facebook
KT Mitchell
Mary Gorgens/Facebook
Faulkner also managed to show the bright side of their conservation efforts.
Despite the tragic circumstances, the family successfully fed and observed wallabies that are still living in the area.
In fact, some mistakes are so astronomical that they're remembered for decades afterwards, leaving the one who made the mistake a legacy of being a dumba**. Here are a few of them!!!
U/ronjans24 asked: What was the biggest mistake in human history?
Some may argue that the existence of the Universe was a mistake. I disagree. It was clearly Zayn leaving One Direction. But these next few were pretty bad too.
If you do the math, this is also the reason why Hentai exists.
I'll say the wrong turn Franz Ferdinand's driver made that went right in front of Gavrilo Princip.
EDIT: yes I'm aware war may still have broken out even if Franz Ferdinand wasn't assassinated
Imagine you're Gavrilo Princip. The assassination plot you and your friends had been cooking up for about the last year or so has been a complete and total disaster, just a monumental f*ck-up of the highest degree. You're staked out at this deli thinking maybe, just maybe the car will pass by, and by some stroke of sheer luck, it does.
If you're Princip, this is nothing short of serendipity.
Petition to return to the ocean.
Ocean Surf GIFGiphy"Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans."
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." - Douglas Adams
This was, in fact, a monumental mistake.
Sears not beating Amazon to the punch.
Blockbuster not buying Netflix.
You thought THOSE were bad? Well gear up for their next few, because they are 100% accurate. Except the one about Cats, that movie slaps.
I don’t know sports, but sure.
Seahawks not running it.
I used to wear a Seahawks jersey whenever I took a test because I knew I would pass when I shouldn't.
CATS is great, y'all are just boring.
GiphyThe Emoji Movie.
That live action movie about Cats is also up there.
Very fair point.
Social Media.
Humans are not wired to have that many social interactions and maintain that many relationships. Plus the echochambers it allows people to create for themselves, no matter how conspiratorial or vile their beliefs, means that stupid/evil people are no longer shunned into changing their mind.
Not sure it was worth being able to see what a celebrity had for lunch or what new "dance" your younger cousin and her tween friends are doing.
But in all seriousness, some horrible things may now have happened if the right thing was halted at the right time.
Washington called it.
George Washington Disney GIF by Hamilton: An American MusicalGiphyVoting for people based on what side of the political spectrum they're on. George Washington himself advised against political parties because he thought they would cause too much division in this country. Unfortunately for everyone, he was right.
Big oops on that one.
Barack Obama mocking Donald Trump at the Correspondents Dinner might have led directly to his 2016 run....
"Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald," Obama said. "And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter — like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"
Then he turned serious: "But all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example — no, seriously, just recently, in an episode of 'Celebrity Apprentice' — at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn't blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled."
This is the best Star Wars and no one can change my mind.
I'll take 'Star Wars Christmas Special' for $100.
That atrocious pile of manure gave us Boba Fett, so without the Christmas Special there won't be The Mandalorian.
Wow, in this article, I openly admitted my love for Cats AND The Star Wars Holiday Special. So maybe my existence was the biggest mistake of all.
ANYWAY, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you all feel a little bit better about yourself. Because when push comes to shove, at least you didn't accidentally start World War I