It was a chance encounter in the charred landscape of Victoria's deadly wildfires: A koala sips water from a bottle offered by a firefighter.

David Tree noticed the koala moving gingerly on scorched paws as his fire patrol passed. Clearly in pain, the animal stopped when it saw Mr Tree.
"It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look) like, put me out of my misery," Mr Tree told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I yelled out for a bottle of water. I unscrewed the bottle, tipped it up on his lips and he just took it naturally.
"He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby."
"I love nature, and I've handled koalas before. They're not the friendliest things, but I wanted to help him," Mr Tree said.
Often mistakenly called koala bears because they resemble a child's teddy bear, the marsupial is actually a rather grumpy creature with a loud growl. It rarely comes down from the trees and doesn't like walking.
Koalas are especially vulnerable to wildfires because they move slowly on the ground.
The wildfires cut through parks and forests and sent countless wombats and other native species fleeing. One resident reported seeing kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their backs.
Mr Tree said he found the koala in a burned-out forest near Mirboo North, about 150 kms east of Melbourne.
Koalas normally dont drink water because they get almost all their fluids from the leaves they eat.
After the scorched koala sipped from the water bottle and Mr Tree's crew moved on, animal welfare officials came by.
The koala was in pain but recovering with antibiotics, Jenny Shaw of the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter told Melbourne's The Herald Sun newspaper.
"She is lovely - very docile - and she has already got an admirer. A male koala keeps putting his arms around her," Ms Shaw was quoted as saying. "It will be a long road to recovery, but she should be able to be released back into the wild in about five months."
Despite her gender, the now famous koala is nicknamed Sam.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) says it is establishing shelters to care for thousands of pets and livestock affected by the fires.
A care and triage centre has been set up at Kinglake to care for injured animals.
Veterinarians will be available at the centre to provide emergency treatment, advice and assistance.
RSPCA chief executive officer Maria Mercurio said the organisation would continue its presence in the area for as long as it was needed.
The RSPCA says the care of pets will be free.