This photo shows koalas at an Australian zoo in July 2019 -- they were not rescued from bushfires

The photo was published in this Facebook post on January 7, 2020.

It has been shared more than 63,000 times.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post: 

Image

The caption reads: “Mother and son rescued in Australian wildfires. The image reflects what animals feel”.

At least 28 people and an estimated one billion animals have been killed in the bushfires that began in September 2019 in Australia, as reported here by AFP on January 20, 2020.

The same image was shared on Facebook here, here, here, here and here; on Twitter here and here; and here on Reddit with a similar claim.

The photo has been shared in a misleading context; it was taken in July 2019 - well before the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire crisis began - and the koalas were not rescued from fires.

A reverse image search on Google found an identical image published here, on an Instagram account belonging to Australian Reptile Park zookeeper Dan Rumsey, on October 11, 2019.

Although the reptile park is located in New South Wales, one of the states most affected by the bushfires, it was not damaged by any fires, Rumsey told AFP.

Below is the Australian Reptile Park post:

A spokesperson for the Australian Reptile Park told AFP the photo was taken in July 2019, some two months before the bushfires broke out in Australia.

Another photo on the Australian Reptile Park’s Instagram page, published here on July 8, 2019, features the same two koalas in a different position.

Below is the Australian Reptile Park post:

The misleading image was also featured in Facebook posts written in Portuguese and Spanish.