When bushfires began blazing through their habitat in Australia, many koalas started searching for water in nearby backyards. Quasi the koala frequently visits one particular family’s property when it’s extremely hot and he’s hankering for a drink. He does it so often that Rusty, the family’s dog, and Quasi have become best friends.
In fact, it happens so frequently that the family was able to capture a particularly adorable video that has since gone viral.
The adorable interaction begins with Quasi the koala sipping some water from a large pot in the Stone family’s backyard. The cute koala is taking a drink when Rusty, the family’s dog, approaches and starts sipping some water too.
“Rusty doesn’t mind sharing the water bowl at all. I think humans could learn a thing or two from this pair,” said Danielle, Rusty’s mom.
Rusty then looks over at Quasi, starts wagging his tail and then gives Quasi a tiny little lick. Clearly, Rusty enjoys the frequent visits from the small, fuzzy, marsupial, as he gives him an affectionate greeting.
If that wasn’t already adorable enough, the pair then lean in towards each other and nuzzle noses for a couple moments. It’s almost as if Rusty was seeking to comfort his koala friend. I mean, it has to be stressful for Quasi that it’s not only been hotter than usual, but that his home trees and habitat have literally been on fire.
Sadly, it’s no surprise that the brushfires began during one of hottest and driest years on record. Hot and dry are the exact conditions that allow fires to easily ignite and thrive. The record breaking heat wave has been affecting animals, and their habitats, all over the country. But the fires have been extremely concentrated along Australia’s southeast coast. Unfortunately, that’s the exact area where a prominent portion of the remaining koala population lives. (Remaining, because the koala population has been diminishing due to loss of habitat.)
After their adorable moment of obvious affection, Quasi returns to quenching his thirst and Rusty continues to hang-out nearby with his tail wagging. The entire video clip may have only been 16 seconds long, but it sure did have a huge impact on those who viewed it.
People find interspecies friendships incredibly amazing, and feel that there’s a lot we can learn from their relationships.
Not only did the video make an emotional impact, but the short clip was viewed over seven million times and was shared with thousands of other animal lovers all over the world. Sometimes, the internet really can be a beautiful thing. You can check-out the heartwarming video, below.
Featured Image: Facebook
Stephanie Maguire
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