A bewildered and badly burned koala is being seen as a beacon of hope after emerging from the ashes of Australia's deadliest bushfires.
After days of devastation and the loss of more than 180 lives volunteer firefighter Dave Tree came across the stricken koala, now named Sam, cowering in a burned out section of a forest at Mirboo North, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of Melbourne. Almost a million animals are believed to have perished in the fires, including Australia's wild marsupials and people's pets. Sonia Legg reports.
