Hundreds of koalas are feared died in a massive forest fire in the australian east coast.
It informs the local authorities on the night of Wednesday local time.
Skovbranden began Saturday, when a bolt of lightning struck down near Port Macquaire in the state of New South Wales.
the Fire has ravaged more than 2200 hectares of forest in the area, which is koalaernes primary habitat on the australian east coast.
the Fire has affected an area of forest near Lake Innes, south of Port Macquaire, which is an area, where hundreds of koalas come to to spawn.
It informs Sue Ashton, who is the head of the Port Macquaire Koala Hospital.
– Koalaerne in the area are genetically very different and have healthy slægtslinjer, because they nest on the crossword, she says.
– So koalaerne in this area is significant for the country. They are very unique in Australia, and they could have helped in relation to much research related to koalaerne.
the Loss is a great tragedy.
Brandmyndighederne in New South Wales, the RFS has struggled against the flames, which for days has spread rapidly to the south. Because of the strong wind the fire is still not under control.
According to Ashton will brandmyndighederne not let anyone approach the area until the fire is completely turned off.
Before the first british settlers arrived in 1788, it is estimated the population of koalas that have been on over ten million. In 2015, there was less than 100,000 left in the wild, was estimated by the Australian Koala Foundation.
the Past was koalaen hunted because of its fur, and it was in the 1920s close to extinction.
Although koalaen has been listed, it has not been able to stop the decline in the stock.
One of the reasons is that 80 percent of the koalaernes natural habitat in Australia has been destroyed through time.
the Koalas which are not bears, but marsupials, are also vulnerable to car traffic, and a bacterial infection, which can make koalaerne blind and barren.
