Thousands of Koalas Feared Dead in Australia Wildfires

Published on

Saturday, December 28, 2019

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Common Dreams

Record wildfires continue: "I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I've ever heard on global heating."

by

Common Dreams staff

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Female koala Anwen recovering from burns at The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia. Volunteers from the Koala Hospital have been working alongside National Parks and Wildlife Service crews searching for koalas following weeks of devastating bushfires across New South Wales and Queensland. Koalas rescued from fire grounds have been brought back to the hospital for treatment. An estimated million hectares of land has been burned by bushfire across Australia following catastrophic fire conditions in recent weeks, killing thousands of koalas along with other wildlife. (Photo by Nathan Edwards/Getty Images)

Australia is still on fire.

And now thousands of koalas are feared to have died in a wildfire-ravaged area north of Sydney.

"Up to 30 percent of their habitat has been destroyed," Environment Minister Sussan Ley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Friday. "We'll know more when the fires are calmed down and a proper assessment can be made." Land clearing and development over time has meant a loss of habitat for the tree-dwelling koalas.

Last year, a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia report said there were fewer than 20,000 koalas left in New South Wales and they risked becoming extinct as early as 2050, largely because of "excessive tree-clearing for farming." Minister Ley said up to 30% of the koalas in the region had been killed in recent days.

Australia has just endured a heatwave that broke records for highest temperature ever for consecutive days. And the fires accelerated on Saturday in the country's east as temperatures soared. 

"I think this is the single loudest alarm bell I've ever heard on global heating," said Kees van der Leun, a director at the American consultancy firm Navigant.

Common Dreams has reported that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attacked environmental activists in a November speech, warning of a “new breed of radical activism” that was “apocalyptic in tone” and pledging to outlaw boycott campaigns that he argued could hurt the country’s mining industry.

“We are working to identify mechanisms that can successfully outlaw these indulgent and selfish practices that threaten the livelihoods of fellow Australians, especially in rural and regional areas,” Morrison said. “New threats to the future of the resources sector have emerged,” he said. “A new breed of radical activism is on the march. Apocalyptic in tone. It brooks no compromise. It’s all or nothing.” 

Mike Hudema

✔@MikeHudema

Australia's on fire. More than 3.65 million hectares burned.

How many more disasters till we #ActOnClimate?#Climate #Energy #AustraliaFires #ClimateStrike #GreenNewDeal #cdnpoli @GretaThunberg

Sky News

✔@SkyNews

Cyclists in Adelaide stop to give a drink of water to a thirsty koala, amid a heatwave which has brought temperatures above 40C to South Australia.

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