The recent wildfires in Australia are the worst we’ve seen in decades. The Australian wildfires have left more than half a billion animals dead.
There are more than 130 fires continue burning across New South Wales and Victoria. According to ecologists from the University of Sydney, more than 480 million total mammals, birds, and reptiles have died in the last three months.
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The wildfires have killed at least 8,000 koalas in New South Wales, which equates to a third of the region’s entire koala population. Experts expect that the number will increase as the fires worsen throughout the week.
Koalas have been hit the hardest because they move really slow. Also, they only eat eucalyptus tree leaves which are comprised of oil, making them highly flammable.
Nature Conservation Council ecologist Mark Graham told a local outlet that a big area is still burning and although they may never find the bodies of dead animals, there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees.
Environmental activists such as Stand Up for Nature and Science for Wildlife, are concerned about the rising numbers of the dead animals. They even wrote a letter to the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and asked him to put a temporary stop on logging of native forests until experts evaluate the wildfires’ impacts on the species and habitat.
“The effects of the catastrophic fires have been so far-reaching that allowing the further loss of habitat and impact on native species would be unconscionable,” the letter read.
The wildfires have been eye-opening for Science for Wildlife’s executive director Dr. Kellie Leigh. She said that these circumstances show just how unprepared they are, and even wildlife carers don’t have protocols for when they can go in after the fire.
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In addition to the dead animals, the Australian wildfires killed 18 people dead — including two firefighters, Andrew O’Dwyer and Geoffrey Keaton. The ravaging blazes also destroyed 1,000 homes and forced many people to leave their homes. The fires have also destroyed millions of acres of land across the continent.
There are more than 2,000 firefighters working in New South Wales. However, that is not enough so other firefighters from the United States, Canada, and New Zealand have arrived to help.
Officials are warning citizens as strong winds and high temperatures are expected to come in on Saturday. They even issued a mandatory evacuation.
