Animal rescue groups race to save Australia’s bushfire-hit wildlife with nearly $200 million in donations

It started with a tweet from Barack Obama.

As the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia, and with reports of a terrible wildlife death toll, the former US president highlighted the work of aid agencies including animal rescue group WIRES.

Warning: this story contains an image that readers may find distressing.

An electronic billboard promoting WIRES appeared in Times Square, while a group in the UK produced koala buttons urging people to donate.

Television host Ellen DeGeneres, Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, and Australian Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo were among those who backed the fundraising campaigns, while British food critic Tom Parker Bowles raised nearly half a million dollars.

An early estimate…