Australia is being ravaged by one of the worst bush fire crises the world has seen in decades.

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Due to soaring temperatures and one of the worst droughts in years, the relentless fires have been burning since September. We're currently in January. Just let that sink in.

New South Wales is suffering immensely at the moment.

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There have been fires reported in every state, but New South Wales is truly taking a beating by bush fires and is undoubtedly the hardest hit. More than 5,000 buildings have been destroyed.

NSW declared a state of emergency last month.

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What does this mean? Well, it grants "extraordinary powers" to the NSWRFS commissioner, including the authority to allocate government resources and direct government agencies in taking action, according to CNN.

Thirty-three people have been confirmed to have died in the fires since they started...

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Including several volunteer firefighters.

And it's not just the flames themselves that are having deadly consequences...

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Last month, the smoke was so bad in Sydney that air quality measured eleven times the "hazardous" level, CNN reports.

The fires have also had a devasting impact on wildlife.

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Several of Australia's native species have been affected including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats, and echidnas.

Over one billion animals have died.

CBS News reports that it is now thought that over one billion mammals, birds, and reptiles have died since September.

It is simply devastating.

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So many innocent creatures have died as a result of the relentless flames.

And truly heartbreaking stories have been emerging from the devastation...

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Like this koala, who was found sat along the side of a pond, mourning his friend who had tragically succumb to the smoke.

And we all remember Lewis the koala...

Lewis was found struggling in the burning bush and was rescued by a heroic woman who sacrificed her own clothes to protect the creature from the deadly flames.

However, despite his rescuer's best efforts...

Lewis didn't make it. The hospital that was caring for the injured marsupial shared the news, writing: “We recently posted that ‘burns injuries can get worse before they get better’. In Ellenborough Lewis’s case, the burns did get worse, and unfortunately would not have gotten better."

And, for those animals that were lucky enough to survive...

It's feared that huge amounts of humanitarian assistance will be required to get populations anywhere near back to what they used to be.

All in all, it's a bleak situation.

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Things aren't looking good for the creatures of Australia, and a long and grueling road to recovery lies ahead.

So, in dire times like these...

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It's always important to focus on the positive stories in order to shine a little light upon the dark times.

So many animals have been rescued by brave and tireless volunteers...

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And many heartwarming stories have been emerging of the adorable survivors.

And the latest one may be the most adorable yet...

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An orphaned kangaroo at a sanctuary in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales has gone viral after a photo of him cuddling a teddy bear was posted to Twitter.

Meet Doodlebug.

Tim Beshara, an adviser to the Greens party, shared the story of Doodlebug, an orphan who his mom had taken in to care for and nurse back to health, to his Twitter page. “He may have fallen out of his mother’s pouch," Beshara told the Daily Mail. “He was a couple of months old when he was passed onto my mother’s wildlife company WIRES. She has since nursed him back to health and he is now hopping around the forest and coming back for the occasional feeding or cuddle."

But Doodlebug has found most of his comfort in one thing...

A teddy bear. Tim’s mom thought to offer the orphaned animals she was caring for a little bit of extra comfort, so she hung teddy bears around the back yard for them to play with and cuddle.

Doodlebug became attached to one teddy in particular...

And very rarely lets his cuddly counterpart go. “They seem to respond to the toys much in the same way as a toddler," Beshara said. “They treat it as a companion."

It's great to see some of the survivors finding happiness once again.

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To sum up the sheer devastation of these fires, keep scrolling to see a selection of photographs that sum up the scale of the mass destruction...