Ecologists at the University of Sydney are estimating that nearly half a billion animals have been killed in Australia’s unprecedented and catastrophic wildfires, which have sparked a continent-wide crisis and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in desperation.
News Corp Australia reported Wednesday that “there are real concerns entire species of plants and animals have been wiped out by bushfires following revelations almost 500 million animals have died since the crisis began.”
“Ecologists from the University of Sydney now estimate 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles have been lost since September,” according to News Corp. “That figure is likely to soar following the devastating fires which have ripped through Victoria and the [New South Wales] South Coast over the past couple of days, leaving several people dead or unaccounted for, razing scores of homes and leaving thousands stranded.”
Mark Graham, an ecologist with the National Conservation Council, told the Australian parliament that “the fires have burned so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies.”
Koalas in particular have been devastated by the fires, Graham noted, because they “really have no capacity to move fast enough to get away.”
As Reuters reported Tuesday, “Australia’s bushland is home to a range of indigenous fauna, including kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums, wombats, and echidnas. Officials fear that 30 percent of just one koala colony on the country’s northeast coast, or between 4,500 and 8,400, have been lost in the recent fires.”
Greenpeace NZ✔@GreenpeaceNZ
The new normal, except it isn’t.
It’s going to get much worse.
And the longer we delay climate action, the worse it will gethttps://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12297648 …#AustraliaBushfires #ClimateEmegency #ClimateChangeIsReal #ausfires #australianBushfires
Half a billion animals perish in Australian bushfires
A staggering 500 million animals are believed to have died in bushfires since September.
nzherald.co.nz
Claire Gorman@ClaireGormI am mourning the loss of wildlife and of the irreparable changes that are happening on the Australian continent. Entire species are being wiped out. #vicfires #VicBushfires #AustralianFires #NSWfires #wildlife https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/half-a-billion-animals-perish-in-bushfires/news-story/b316adb4f3af7b1c8464cf186ab9f52c …
Fears entire species of plants and animals lost to bushfires
There are real concerns entire species of plants and animals have been wiped out by bushfires following revelations almost 500 million animals have died since the crisis began.
news.com.au
Australia’s coal-touting Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced growing scrutiny for refusing to take sufficient action to confront the wildfires and the climate crisis that is driving them. Since September, the fires have burned over 10 million acres of land, destroyed more than a thousand homes, and killed at least 17 people — including 9 since Christmas Day.
On Thursday, the government of New South Wales (NSW) declared a state of emergency set to take effect Friday morning as the wildfires are expected to intensify over the weekend.
“We’ve got a lot of fire in the landscape that we will not contain,” said Rob Rogers, deputy commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service. “We need to make sure that people are not in the path of these fires.”
Half a Billion Animals May Have Been Killed by Australia Wildfire
Exposing the Big Game 
It’s really distressing, and how will the populations ever recover when human activities and human presence dominates in importance? Disgusting.
Good question.
This is what I fear we can ultimately expect from climate change everywhere, whether fires and drought, or floods, and we’ll only save ourselves until it all catches up to us too.
I still can’t believe the audacity of the PM leaving for vacation in this kind of a crisis.
And what do you know, another war on the way! Can humans ever change their behavior? Doubtful. 😦
I lived in Australia, New South Wales, for 2 years a while ago when I was married. I adored the unique wildlife and birds that they have and am absolutely mortified by this massive loss of wildlife.
The only possible hope is if any zoos or wildlife parks there can breed the species lost and return them back to the wild. However, it will be almost impossible to find out which species are totally lost and no doubt more tragic fires will be the norm……horrible.
That’s another big disappointment for me – that the only way animals can survive is in zoos. I see reports occasionally about the wonderful birth of Mexican wolf pups – in a zoo! A new baby black rhino – in a zoo! I fear that zoos and being gawked at by idiots will be the future. Far from teaching, I think zoos condition children to see animals in captivity. But unfortunately that may be the only ‘safe’ place for them. Even in France, poor security allowed poachers to hack off the horns of an endangered white rhino.
I doubt that time and money can be spent on such a huge endeavor as breeding programs for wildlife, only to return back to an increasingly damaged and human dominated ‘wild’, but I hope for such a thing.
But by all means, they don’t seem to want to let it interfere with their vacations and meaningless New Year’s revelry. 😦
One of the best Geico commercials ever, and there are many. From the captive animals’ point of view. I love it when one says ‘just let it go, Phil’. What a life:
https://youtu.be/Pi9eTOqqTMs
..
..cannot find words..
only *tears*..
..heartbreak..
“Where the bloody hell are ya?” I love that protest sign:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/21/scott-morrison-hawaii-horror-show-pr-disaster-unfolded
He may be entitled to vacay, but at this time the country needs to feel their leadership can be relied upon and is with them! Skipping out and leaving someone else in charge just looks bad.