Australian bushfires 'may have dealt a fatal blow' to several species, rethink on attitude to nature required
The Australian bushfires have the potential to be the biggest wildfire disaster in the past century.
The raging blaze has been devastating for the country's wildlife as massive areas of native bushland, forests, and parks have been scorched. According to a statement from WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman, around 1.25 billion animals may have been killed directly or indirectly from fires that have burnt 8.4 million hectares across Australia.
The calamity has since claimed the lives of thousands of defenseless koalas on the mid-north coast of NSW, along with other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos, and honeyeaters.
According to O’Gorman, several forests will take decades to recover and some species may have tipped over the brink of extinction. And the full extent of damage will remain unknown until the fires subside.
In an exclusive conversation with MEAWW, Nicola Beynon, Head of Campaigns at Humane Society International, Australia answered some pertinent questions regarding the crisis. When asked about measures that were currently being taken to contain the unprecedented fires as well as to rehabilitate the affected animals, Beynon said HSI had already deployed their own disaster response team in the "hard-hit" Kangaroo Island.
"We are supporting wildlife carers in the fire zones with funds and supplies as they struggle to cope with an influx of patients," she said. "We have also deployed our own disaster response team to the very hard hit Kangaroo Island where we are on a search and rescue mission for surviving koalas and other wildlife in the charred landscapes."
According to Beynon, climate change is definitely an aggravating factor for the unprecedented fires.
"Yes, these fires have been fuelled by climate change," she told MEAWW. "They are a result of a recent drier and hotter climate in southeastern Australia creating the conditions for more severe and widespread fires. By far the majority of fires were started by lightning."
That said, there is a real threat of endangerment for hundreds of species Down Under.
"We have grave fears for the survival of a number of threatened species," Beynon continued. "Even before the fires, Australia was facing an extinction crisis due to long term habitat destruction and other threats. These fires may have dealt a fatal blow to animals that were already critically endangered."
She said it was "imperative that Australian state and federal governments now place a moratorium on threats that we can control such as logging and culling to give wildlife some respite and protect their refugia."
"If there is one thing we must learn from this crisis it is that our country’s attitude to nature cannot return to business as usual," Beynon added.
Meanwhile, WWF Australia is partnering with wildlife rescue and care organizations in affected states and directing funds so they can respond at scale. "Over the coming weeks, we will deliver emergency response to WWF conservation field partners in fire-affected areas and provide advice to state governments calling for swift and effective interventions across wildlife response, nature protection, and restoration," a statement read.
"And when the fires clear we will help restore homes for koalas and other wildlife through our Towards Two Billion Trees plan to save and grow two billion trees by 2030. This starts with planting the first 10,000 urgently needed trees in critical koala habitat."
The organization is also working to ensure the Federal Government’s $2 billion national bushfire recovery fund supports the green reconstruction of regional areas devastated by these fires.
Humane Society International has launched a Wildlife Emergency Response Fund to get aid to animal survivors of the fires. You can contribute here.