PA/IFAW/FacebookRemember when we introduced you to Bear, the incredible, selfless pooch who risked his life to detect surviving koalas hidden in the wreckage of the bushfires that ravaged across Australia?
Well, Tom Hanks wants to make a movie about him. What a guy.
You can watch the actor discovering Bear’s incredible bravery right here:
During tragic times, it was hard not to fall in love with the Border Collie-Koolie cross, who was branded a hero for saving the lives of scorched koalas, and now he could be set to get some real recognition for his work.
Bear was deployed in New South Wales and Queensland, before heading to one of the worst affected areas, Cooroibah, north of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, where he used his nose to detect fresh koala faeces to find the living creatures among the debris.
He had originally been rescued from a pound because he has obsessive compulsive disorder meaning he doesn’t like to play, but fortunately he was rescued by Sunshine Coast University, where he was trained to find koalas and is now based.
IFAW/FacebookBut, while Bear’s good work should be common knowledge around the world, there are several people who had never heard of his selfless acts, including the legend that is Tom Hanks.
It all came to light when the fellas over at Twitter asked him to read a number of nice tweets floating around the social media platform in a bid to cheer everyone up.
One of said tweets was about Bear’s bravery, and it’s fair to say Tom was blown away when he heard.
Speaking of the four-legged hero, Tom said:
This is a Disney movie that must be made – the story of Bear, the koala detection dog. That’s adorable.
There we have it. If Tom Hanks says it should be a movie, it should be a movie. Can we get Disney on the phone, please?
IFAW/FacebookIn the meantime, International Fund for Animal Welfare campaigner Joey Sharrad has explained why Bear’s job is so important.
He told the Brisbane Times:
Now, more than ever, saving individual koalas is critical.
With such an intense start to the bushfire season, it will be many weeks and months before some of these fires are out.
All the while, wildlife will continue to need to be rescued and treated, and might remain in care for some time. The road to recovery will be long.
Not all heroes wear capes – some of them wear heat protection socks on their paws.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.