By Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga
SKENDERBEGAS, Albania (Reuters) -As wildfires raged across Albania last week, people were forced to flee for their lives, with no time to save their livestock.
Now the fires are subsiding, some volunteers are turning their attention to caring for the scorched animals.
Swiss national Maria Cristina Medina, who runs the Tierhilfe animal shelter, near the capital Tirana, watched on as a veterinarian administered antibiotics and applied lotion to a horse that sustained burns in Delvina – one of the worst affected towns in the south of the country.
“Delvina has a good chance to survive, as her lungs were not damaged, and she is fighting for her life,” Medina said. The injured horse, which now shares its name with the town, began eating and drinking after receiving treatment.
A donkey with burns is also under care.
Medina said she has received a steady stream of calls accompanied by photos of scorched animals, many of which ultimately had to be euthanised due to the extent of their injuries.
“I saw pictures of burned animals, and I cried and even threw up, but then I got back and carried on because they need my help,” Medina said.
She and her team later headed to the village of Skenderbegas, some two hours away from Tirana in the eastern part of the country, to check for more burned animals.
More than 30 houses and barns were destroyed in the village and evidence of devastation is stark, with the skeletons of goats, cows and donkeys scattered amid the ruins.
“The flames arrived so quickly. We were rushing to save the children, but I could not unchain the cow,” said Manjola Doci, whose one-month-pregnant cow suffered burns over large parts of its body.
One neighbour lost all 12 of his goats, another three cows, a profound loss in a region where such animals are often the primary means of food and transport for locals.
(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
