Our furry symbol of hope in the midst of devastation.

As South Australia faces the worst bushfires in 30 years leaving 26 homes destroyed, many facing loss of their livelihood and thousands of hectares of farm and bushland burnt, a simple video of a koala drinking has provided a small symbol of hope and life to a devastated community.

It’s the same symbol that time and time again we have turned to as our national landscape is destroyed by fire, and time and time again we rallied together to put back the pieces.

An Adelaide woman named Kerry uploaded a video of a koala desperate for a drink to her Facebook page.

She wrote “Came home to find a very hot and thirsty koala right in our front yard! Im going to remember this forever. He drank for 15mins straight before looking much better and climbing a tree.”

The video which has been viewed over 450,000 times shows Kerry pouring a plastic jug of water straight into the koala’s mouth. The delighted but parched animal drinks and drinks.

“When we first got home he was lying on the hot concrete trying to get shade behind the wheelie bins.” She says

She goes on to pour water over his furry head.

Her video is just one of many heartwarming moments from these devastating bushfires.

Another which is quickly going viral was taken in the Adelaide hills by a man named Colin.

He writes “I came across this little chap in a distressed state so I offered a helping hand from my water bottle and he drank without eagerly without hesitation.”

It’s a famous Australian image – and only six years ago one that went around the world when a Victorian volunteer firefighter, David Tree stopped to give a female koala a drink.

Sam became the most famous koala in the world and became a symbol of hope after the Victorian bushfires which claimed 173 lives.

As the firefighters struggle to contain the Adelaide Hills fires we can only hold on to the hope that these tiny moments give us and send our very best to the communities faced with devastation.

 To help you can donate to the Emergency Bushfire Relief Fund here.

Or you can visit the Bushfires SA Assistance page on Facebook for those wanting to offer transport or accommodation for people and animals.