Grandmother reunited with koala she rescued, using her own shirt, from fires in NSW

A grandmother who ripped the shirt from her back to save a koala from the bushfires has been reunited with the marsupial.

A heroic grandmother who ripped her shirt off to wrap it around a koala trapped in burning bushland, saving the animal from certain death, has been praised for her bravery.

Lewis the koala was pulled from flames by Toni Doherty, who spotted the burned animal running into fires near Port Macquarie.

Ms Doherty ripped off the shirt from her back and chased after the koala, who she said was crying and screaming as it tried to escape the blaze.

“I’ve never heard a koala before. I didn’t realise they could cry out,” Ms Doherty told 9 News.

“It was just so heart wrenching and I knew I needed to get him out of there as quickly as possible,” she said.

RELATED: Couple care for 24 koalas in their living room

Toni Doherty rescued Lewis from the bushfires.

She used the shirt off her back to save him.

Ms Doherty told Today she knew she needed to put something around him so she took her shirt off.

“It was terrifying to see him just come out of the flames and he looked so defenceless running along the road,” she said.

“It was so hot and so frightening. I was so pleased I had something to put over him and to get him out of harm’s way. It was a handy top. I’ve washed it, it’s back in the wardrobe.”

Ms Doherty gave Lewis some water.

He’s making a recovery but might not survive.

Despite the shocking burns Lewis – named after one of Ms Doherty’s grandchildren – endured, he is in a koala hospital and was yesterday seen eating leaves.

The 14-year-old koala suffered burns to his feet, chest and stomach. He was bandaged and given antibiotics but his chances of recovery are “50-50” according to the hospital.

Lewis is among hundreds of koalas rescued from the bushfires but many have not been as lucky.

As many as 350 koalas are estimated to have died in fires that tore through the Port Macquarie region last week, decimating the habitat in an area home to one of the state’s biggest koala populations.

The blaze devastated the Lake Innes Nature Reserve, which was home to a colony of up to 600 koalas.

“We think most of the animals were incinerated — it’s like a cremation,” Koala Conservation Australia president Sue Ashton told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.

“They have been burnt to ashes in the trees.”

One couple had taken in 24 koalas to care for in their living room.

Paul and Christeen McLeod have been running a welfare refuge for koalas in Taree since 1993.