Koala Breeding Region In Australia Hit By Bushfire, Hundreds Feared Burnt Alive

Hundreds Of Koala Feared Dead Due To Bushfire In New South Wales

Bushfires can have very serious consequences for people, the environment as well as residents of the wild like koalas.

A bushfire in New South Wales, Australia, was reported to have reached a koala breeding ground, leading experts to fear that hundreds of them may have perished.

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According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), hundreds of koalas may have been burned alive in a bushfire that spread through their breeding ground in the eastern region of New South Wales on Wednesday (30 Oct).

Bushfire started because of a lightning strike

The bushfire was believed to have started because of a lightning strike that happened on Saturday (26 Oct).

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It has since devastated 2,200ha of land, including one of the koalas’ breeding ground, located at Lake Innes.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has been fighting the bushfire for days. The situation is getting better but the fires are still apparently spreading, which means they’re on a clock.

Many different breeds of koala feared dead

Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital said that these koalas are “genetically diverse”.

According to Wikipedia, genetic diversity will allow these koalas to adapt to the environment better, which means lower chances of extinction.

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Other than the direct impact on koala population, the fires also have an indirect impact.

The fires will cause a loss of living space as well as loss of food source for the marsupials.

Fires continue to burn

According to The Guardian, there were 71 fires burning across New South Wales on Wednesday (30 Oct) morning, with 30 still not contained.

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Kudos to the fire response teams for the efforts in trying to contain the fires. Hopefully, they will be extinguished soon and put an end to the suffering of the koala population there.

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Featured image adapted from Medibank & Facebook.