Koalas starve as residents destroy trees to stop bush fires on Australian island
Koalas starve as residents destroy trees to stop bush fires on Australian island
01 August 2018
Published by https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
AUSTRALIA – SYDNEY: Animal rescuers on an Australian island off the south coast say koalas are starving to death as residents cut down trees to prevent bushfires, destroying the native animal’s habitat and food source.
Wendy Hendriksen, a rescue shelter worker on Raymond Island, just off the coast of Victoria state, said the facility was admitting at least one starving koala per week.
“This is affecting koalas all over the state, not only here in Raymond Island,” Hendriksen, who works on the 770 hectare (1,902 acres) island that is home to about 250 koalas and 470 people.
“It’s much more obvious here because we only have one shelter that gets all the koalas so we are able to see the problem in a deeper degree.”
Australia is currently experiencing extreme dry weather, although the most intense drought conditions are located further north in the state of New South Wales.
However, in trying to prevent uncontrolled fires, the clearing of land threatens koalas, which mostly survive off a diet of eucalyptus leaves.
Largely found near Australia’s coastline, the marsupials were introduced to locations like Raymond Island to help them survive after European settlers almost shot the animal to extinction and then traded their fur.
“Bushfires, particularly in Victoria, have also been terrible for them,” Mella said.