Koalas, wallabies endangered by Australia bushfires 'ecological disaster'

The Australian government committed A$50 million to an emergency wildlife recovery program on Jan. 13, calling the bushfires crisis engulfing the country "an ecological disaster" that threatens several species, including koalas and rock wallabies.   

Huge wildfires have razed more than 11.2 million hectares (27.7 million acres), nearly half the area of the United Kingdom, destroying or severely damaging the habitats of several native animals.    

Some estimates suggest as many as a billion animals, including livestock and domestic pets, have either died in the blazes or are at risk in their aftermath due to a lack of food and shelter.   

"This has been an ecological disaster, a disaster that is still unfolding," Treasurer Frydenberg told reporters on Jan. 13 as he visited the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, where 45 koalas were being treated for burns.   

"We know that our native flora and fauna have been very badly damaged."   

Images of burned kangaroos, koalas and possums, along with footage of people risking their lives to save native animals have gone viral around the world. Knitters around the world have responded to a call to create thousands of protective pouches and blankets for injured wildlife.   

The Australian division of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has advised the government of 13 animals whose habitats have been either destroyed or severely damaged. They include three critically endangered species: the southern corroboree frog, the regent honeyeater bird and the western ground parrot.   

"Huge proportions of globally significant areas like the Gondwana Rainforestand Blue Mountains World Heritage Areas along with the Australian Alps and Western Australia's Stirling Ranges have suffered...