A lost joey named Spirit has lifted those of Victorian wildlife rangers faced with the grim task of identifying injured animals to be destroyed.
Responding to a concerned call from Clonbinane, a bushfire-affected town 55km north of Melbourne, the 14-month-old eastern grey kangaroo was found badly dehydrated and alone under a tree.
"She was very lucky, it's amazing to find a little one like her alive so long after the fires" Wildlife Victoria volunteer Narelle Smith said.
"She's obviously lost her mum and her mob but she only suffered had a minor burn.
"Dehydration and the fact that she'd gone into shock was our biggest fear."
The joey was only about two months out of the pouch and would have been reliant on her mother's milk for about another four months.
There was no sign of her mother or her troop, who may have perished as long ago as 25 days ago when the Black Saturday fires decimated the state.
Spirit was treated with an IV drip and fed a special kangaroo formula to replace lost weight.
But it wasn't until she was placed in a pen with other injured joeys that she gave the best indication that she was making progress.
"As soon as she saw the others her face just lit up like no tomorrow, it was brilliant," Ms Smith said.
Wildlife officers have been trawling the bushfire areas with hunters from the Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia for over two weeks.
They face the responsibility of identifying native animals that are too injured to save - and have made the heartbreaking decision to euthanise over 100 animals by rifle.
Read more: Hunters brought in for bushfire cull.
While both Wildlife Victoria and SSAA volunteers admit the job is emotionally draining, Spirit's story has raised hopes of more rescues.
"I've been out with the shooters and we've assessed a couple more that are worth [tranquilizer] darting … so hopefully we still might be able to pull another couple of animals out and save them as well."
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