Heartbreaking video of dozens of kangaroos fleeing their homes emerged as bushfires continue to rip across Australia's southeast coast.
The group was spotted near the village of Bredbo in New South Wales on Monday as they ran across the smoke-filled grassland in search of safety.
Mitchell Lyons, who filmed the striking moment, said: "Look, they don't know which way to run from cars, but they sure know which way to run from fire."
He also said the closest bushfire from the grassland was about six miles away and the animals were probably coming out from the bushes 'to stop for a drink'.
Wildlife rescue services have rescued some kangaroos from the bushfires and treated them for burnt feet pads.
But authorities have no exact figure on how many native animals have been killed but experts say it is likely to be in the millions.
NSW Police confirmed that at least 15 people are now believed to have died and scores of people remain missing after weeks of fires that have raged through the east coast.
Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches.
Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.
Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.
"Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South Coast," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said in Sydney.
"Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still unaccounted for."
In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.
About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, though she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the
weekend.
" Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were," Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.
