Koalas rescued from path of raging bushfire

The rescued koalas resting in its temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. A dozen koalas was rescued from the path of bushfires raging near Sydney on Tuesday (Dec 17). - AFP

SYDNEY: A dozen koalas have been rescued from the path of bushfires raging near Sydney, conservationists said Tuesday (Dec 17), as devastating blazes increasingly encroach on critical habitat.

Rescuers scaled trees this week to retrieve three adult males, five adult females and four joeys, whose habitat is under threat from a fire burning across 140,000 hectares in the Blue Mountains.