China News Service, July 28. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) shows that the Australian wildfires in 2019 caused about 3 billion animals to die or lose their habitats.
According to reports, WWF stated that this is "one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history." The wildfire that swept across all states in Australia lasted from September 2019 to February 2020. At least 33 people were killed in the wildfire. About 11.46 million hectares of land were scorched. A large number of mammals, reptiles, Birds die or lose their habitat.
On March 23, local time, in New South Wales, Australia, staff from the animal protection organization released koalas rescued from the wildfire into the forest.
Scientists previously estimated that 1.25 billion animals were killed in New South Wales and Victoria alone.
This time, WWF commissioned 10 scientists to conduct a reassessment. Professor Chris Dickman, who was in charge of the assessment, said they could not tell the exact number of deaths, but he pointed out that due to the lack of food and shelter, the chances of animals escaping the fire and surviving "may not be so great."
Dickman also said that based on the estimation of the animal density before the wildfire, the final estimated number is about 3 billion, which does not include fish and invertebrates.
According to the report, the Australian government stated in February 2020 that at least 113 species of animals need "emergency rescue" and that these animals have lost at least 30% of their habitat, including koalas, kangaroos and some birds. The Australian government has invested 50 million Australian dollars to restore wildlife habitats, and environmentalists also called on the government to strengthen the animal protection bill.
Currently, the Royal Australian Commission is still investigating the bushfire disaster and is expected to announce the results of the investigation in October.