Third death confirmed on Wednesday bringing number of deaths to 12 during months-long bushfires.

A hunter from a town cut off by raging Australian bushfires is putting his own life on the line to save koalas and other affected wildlife.

Patrick Boyle, 22, entered the charred eucalyptus forest in Mallacoota – a small town in the East Gippsland region of Victoria – on Wednesday to search for animals he could save.

Supplied Patrick Boyle has saved "eight or nine" koala from burned Victorian bushland so far and expects to come across more in need of help in the coming days.

He took matters into his own hands after feeling that while plenty of locals were supporting each other, few had been able to help the wildlife.

Boyle said he was "no idea what to expect" on the dangerous solo mission.

"I instantly found a burned koala that I took straight back to the wildlife shelter. It was actually remarkable how quickly I found koalas.

"I've found eight or nine so far that have been rescued. I found over 10 that were dead and about another five that are alive and healthy for the time being."

NATHAN EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES At least 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have perished in New South Wales alone.

Boyle is appealing for donations to wildlife shelter, which he said was actually just someone's house.

"The place is rammed with koalas and other wildlife all through their lounge and back garden. They have very little resources, so any help that people can give is great.

"To give people a sense of what we're dealing with, we're expecting hot weather in the coming days and the shelter is right by a gully. This puts the shelter under threat so we are currently moving all of the animals to a temporary location now to ensure their safety tomorrow [Saturday]."

Boyle said people were quick to speak up about environmental issues, but did not actually do anything to cause change.

"I'm a hunter – I'm one of the last people that others would expect to help these animals.

"Farmers, hunters and workers are the ones out there actually taking action right now."

NATHAN EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES A koala named Paul from Lake Innes Nature Reserve recovers from his burns in the ICU at The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

On Thursday, a naval ship arrived at Mallacoota to evacuate people as the bushfires had cut off the town.

The HMAS Choules is capable of carrying about 700 passengers, but about 4000 people remain stranded around the town's beach area, including about 1000 locals.

It was reported nearly 500 million animals had been killed in New South Wales alone as a result of bushfires. The final figure in Australia was likely to be "substantially higher", authorities said.

Confirmed details for donations to the Mallacoota wildlife shelter can be found on its Facebook page. The official Mallacoota fires support fund can be found here.