The flames were caused by lightning that struck a wooded area: 2 hectares of koala habitat were destroyed in the fires
Hundreds of koala they may have remained killed during fires that have hit Australia in recent days. The flames have affected a wooded area near Port Macquarie, where as many as 71 fires have reduced to ashes 2000 hectares of vegetation. Winds from the northeast carried the smoke to Wollongong and Nowra.
Residents of several areas including Lake Cathie, Long Point and Bobs Creek have been warned of the possible consequences of atmospheric pollution from excessive smoking, which can cause problems especially for children, the elderly and people with heart or respiratory diseases.
It looks like the fire was caused by lightning that hit the wooded area last Tuesday and that the flames have spread uncontrollably in a land where numerous koalas live and breed.
Hope that i koala have survived is very little. In fact, these animals tend to climb on top of others and to roll up on themselves.
It is feared that many have been burned alive and that others have sustained major leg injuries as they descended from the red-hot trees and then found death when they arrived on the ground unable to climb again.
Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie Koala Veterinary Hospital, called the likely loss of koalas a tragedy, as it was a highly diverse population from a genetic point of view.
The hospital, which can accommodate up to 40 koalas, has gathered more than 150 volunteers to deal with the possible influx of injured animals, but Ashton explained that unfortunately the hospital's rescuers will not be able to go to check the conditions of the koalas for several days, then any survivors could die in the wait.
Many of the fires are in fact now under control, but about thirty are still active and it will take some time to completely extinguish the flames.
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Although not officially listed as an endangered species, i koala they are continuously threatened by urbanization and the destruction of their habitat and this probable loss of hundreds of specimens will be difficult to recover.
Read also:
- It's official: koalas are functionally extinct
- Plant hundreds of trees to save koalas' lives (PHOTO)
Tatiana Maselli
