Australian Firefighters Release Calendar For Animals Caught in Wildfire
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Featured Image Credit: American Firefighters Calendar
A group of (*cough* topless) Australian firefighters have released a calendar in aid of the thousands of animals that were injured by the country's devastating wildfires and we can't think of a better reason to go and buy one right this very instant.
Did we mention they were topless?
The Australian Firefighters Calendar has been going since 1993, and was originally created to raise money to support the Children's Hospital Foundation and generate funding towards research into childhood burns.
They've gone onto support numerous different charities over the years, with all proceeds from the most recent calendar going towards animal casualties of the Australian bushfires.
The calendars have been extremely successful since launch, and have raised around $3.2 million, and judging by these pictures, we're pretty confident 2021's version will do just as well.
"2019 and early 2020 was a particularly devastating time, and the world grieved with Australia as we suffered through catastrophic bushfires, and an estimated loss of 1 billion animals from our diverse native wildlife," the team told Bored Panda.
"While the fires may have gone, the destroyed bushland has made it impossible for many of the displaced wildlife to return to their natural habitat."
Sounds like there's a lot of competition to get into the calendar, though, with David Rogers, the director of the team, adding: "Every year, hundreds of firefighters from around Australia submit photos to be part of the calendar photoshoot, but only 24 are chosen to come to the photoshoot on the Gold Coast.
"Even then, there is no guarantee that you will have a successful photo included in the calendar."
All animals in the shoots also come from local rescue centres, and to be fair, they are the real stars of the show.
Nearly three billion animals were killed or displaced during the 2019/2020 bushfires, with a report produced by the World Wide Fund for Nature in July stating that 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, and 51 million frogs were wiped out or displaced.
Truly devastating.
Well it's safe to say we'll definitely be doing our bit and buying the calendar, and we recommend you do so too.
There are even six calendars to choose from, so we're spoilt for choice. You can purchase one now via the calendar's official website.
Enjoy!