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Sydney (AP) - More than 60,000 koalas were killed, injured, displaced or traumatized by the devastating bush fires in Australia in the summer of 2019/20.

This emerges from a report by the environmental organization WWF.

In total, almost three billion animals were damaged by the fire - around 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 181 million birds and 51 million frogs.

They were also exposed to smoke inhalation, heat stress and dehydration.

An area of ​​around 19 million hectares burned in the east and south of Australia - that's more than half the area of ​​Germany.

The managing director of WWF Australia, Dermot O'Gorman, announced that they were working on a "regeneration plan".

It contained a bold vision: by 2050, the number of koalas in Eastern Australia should be doubled.

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The number of koalas affected by the recent fires is "deeply shocking" - especially for a species that is already in trouble.

According to the "Koalas forever" plan, WWF will test drones in Australia that scatter seeds to create corridors for koalas.

In addition, a fund should be set up to encourage landowners to create safe havens for koalas.

The fires were particularly devastating for the marsupial mammals, which are only native to Australia, as the animals do not flee from the fire, but stay in their trees.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201207-99-600201 / 2