In an effort to save starving animals displaced by the recent wildfires, the Australian government dropped 4,000 pounds of food in areas devastated by the fires. Food dropped included carrots and sweet potatoes.
Operation Rock Wallaby 🦘- #NPWS staff today dropped thousands of kgs of food (Mostly sweet potato and carrots) for our Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby colonies across NSW 🥕🥕 #bushfires pic.twitter.com/ZBN0MSLZei
— Matt Kean MP (@Matt_KeanMP) January 11, 2020
Australian Wildfires
The Australian wildfires began in September. In the state of New South Wales, the fires are difficult to extinguish due to excessive heat and drought. Fire season in Australia begins in July. Natural causes such as lightning strikes are cited as the most common reason wildfires begin.
Animals in the Bushfires
In addition to the homes that have burned as well as the 28 people who have died during the fires, around a half billion animals have been affected. Conservationists believe that number is conservative and that there may be as many as one billion animals who have been either killed or displaced by the fires. As many as one-third of the koalas in New South Wales are estimated to have died and one-third of their habitat is now gone.
Endangered Species
Koalas are not in any immediate danger of extinction. However, many of the animals in Australia could be in danger due to their niche environments and lower populations. The food dropped by the government was specifically targeting the brush-tailed rock-wallaby as the animals were already on the endangered list prior to the fires. The wallabies were already under stress due to the ongoing drought. With their habitat now damaged or destroyed, finding food was nearly impossible for them. According to officials, wallabies typically survive bushfires but are often left stranded with very little natural food.
One happy customer 🦘🥕🥕🥕🥕#operationrockwallaby #AustralianFires pic.twitter.com/wtzMgeaX6D
— Matt Kean MP (@Matt_KeanMP) January 11, 2020
The Australian government has indicated that it plans to continue the food drops in various regions where wildfires have destroyed habitat until the areas can recover.
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