Amidst the horror of Australia’s catastrophic bushfires, one sweet face is bringing some hope surrounding the survival of our native animals – and fetching some celebrity admirers along the way.
WATCH: Woman saves koala from bushfires.
Border collie-coolie cross Bear is a koala detection dog, and he’s been working hard to sniff out injured and displaced koalas in the wake of the devastating fires.
The sweet doggo was given up as a puppy due to his obsessive-compulsive disorder – and while his OCD nature meant he wasn’t well suited to life as a family pet, it did make him the perfect candidate for his current Very Important Job as saviour of local wildlife.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks both count themselves as fans of this pooch’s work, with both big-name stars sharing their affection for the four-legged hero on social media.
In the regular segment Nice Tweets With Tom Hanks on Twitter Movies’ account, the actor read out Bear’s story to nearly 8.5 million viewers.
“As wildfires devastate Australia’s east coast, Bear is doing his best to locate any injured or misplaced (sic) koalas,” Tom read aloud from a tweet by account WeRateDogs.
Looking up after he finished, the actor quipped:
“This is a Disney movie that must be made – the story of Bear, the koala detection dog,” Mr Hanks said. “That’s adorable. I like Bear.”
Naww, we do too!
Fierce advocate for the environment Leonardo DiCaprio also showcased Bear on his Instagram feed.
The Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood star shared a World Economic Forum video, in which the hard-working hound stars.
“Australians are saving koalas from deadly bushfires,” the Hollywood heavyweight captioned the clip.
Bear (who has his own Instagram account, of course), proudly regrammed a screen grab of Leo’s post.
“A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 times stronger than that of humans. By successfully training Bear to locate koalas means that we can now work faster and with great accuracy to protect them,” explained Josey Sharrad, wildlife campaigner at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), in a press release.
“Now more than ever, every individual koala matters for the future of the species, so we are delighted that the world now sees Bear for what he is, a wildlife hero.”
Of the celebrity attention Bear’s been receiving, Senior Research Fellow from the University of the Sunshine Coast Detection Dogs for Conservation, Dr Celine Frere, added:
“We did not expect to see Tom Hanks talking about Bear on Twitter, but it’s really shone a light on the work that Bear, and our other detection dogs, are doing to protect our environment, and we’ve had so much positive feedback online.”
Bear’s work family have also shared their surprise at just how much attention their furry friend is receiving from all over the world.
“I am still unsure whether this is due to his awesome blue eyes, attractive red booties, or his heart warming story from abandoned dog to super star (it’s the red booties though, right????) – but I do need to acknowledge there are so many more amazing people doing so much more for wildlife right now, and that deserve all the recognition in the world,” read a Facebook post on the Detection Dogs for Conservation’s wall.
Oh, and about those red booties? They’re not just stylish – they’re part of Bear’s uniform, and help protect his sensitive paws while he’s out working in the fire zones.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
