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A heart-rending cartoon showing Steve Irwin welcoming animals killed in Australia's bushfires to heaven has gone viral.

The poignant piece was posted by Australian artist Sharnia-Mae Sturm, 22, on her social media pages on New Year's Eve.

It shows the late Crocodile Hunter and wildlife expert Mr Irwin greeting kangaroos, koalas and other wildlife with open arms.

Irwin is pictured on one knee saying: "Don't worry little guys! I'll take care of you!"

The sketch struck a chord with people around the world saddened by the devastation to wildlife caused by the country's wildfires.

The post went viral, being shared across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The cartoon has received millions of views, with many saying the emotive drawing brought them to tears.

Instagram even deactivated Ms Sturm's account because it thought the high volume of responses was fake.

Ms Sturm, who is from Western Australia but now lives in the US, redirected people to her Facebook page instead.

"'I guess it's from the sudden outburst of people liking commenting and sharing my drawing. I'm working on getting it back online though! Thank you all for your love and support.," she wrote.

It comes as it was revealed that more than a billion animals had perished in the bushfires, including at least 8,000 koalas.

Mr Irwin's daughter Bindi thanked Ms Sturm in the comments.

The 21-year-old has spoken in recent days about how she wishes her father was still alive to help her tackle the crisis going on in the country.

Mr Irwin died in September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb as he was filming a documentary in shallow waters at the Great Barrier Reef.

Ms Irwin has been continuing the work of her father in the zoo he set up on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

Hundreds of possums, platypuses and bats injured in the horrific bushfires have been flown to the wildlife hospital for special treatment.