Experts warn some wildlife could be lost forever after fires
As bushfires continue to destroy vital habitats across Victoria, and wildlife suffers an enormous toll, experts are desperately working to minimise the devastation but warn some species may become extinct.
VIC News
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Hundreds of native flora and fauna species could become endangered or become extinct as bushfires continue to destroy vital habitats across the state, Victorian experts warn.
Ecologists have been working to pinpoint where and what the most at-risk species and habitats are in a bid to minimise the devastation.
Initial assessments from the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning identified 126 species of particular concern, including 13 frog species, nine birds, 19 mammals and 10 reptiles.
Brush-tailed rock wallaby, giant burrowing frog, Eastern bristlebird, East Gippsland galaxias and the diamond python populations were noted as concerns.
It was a “horrible tragedy”, according to University of Melbourne Conservation Ecology Professor Brendan Wintle.
“We expect that something in the order of 300 or 400 species will be impacted,” he said.
“We would guess that maybe more than 100 are going to have a significant portion of their satiable habitat will be destroyed. It’s probably going to accelerate the extinction crisis in this country.”
The message was echoed by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who is pushing for the already established Faunal Extinction Inquiry to look specifically at the effect of the fires on plants and animals.
“More than a billion animals have been killed by fires across the country and thousands of hectares of habitat destroyed and we are only halfway through summer,” Senator Hanson-Young. said. “We don’t have time to waste.”
The national Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel met this week for the first time since the bushfire crisis began.
The panel decided its priorities included protecting what remained of habitats and better understanding where the worst affected areas were.
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“The ongoing bushfires are an ecological disaster,” panel chair Dr Sally Box said.
“While the full extent of the impacts on species and natural assets will not be known until the fires are out and it is safe to access affected areas, we know they will be extensive and severe. Once species are made extinct, we cannot bring them back.”
Last weekend Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced a $50 million funding boost to wildlife and environmental groups across the country but a leading Queensland koala expert, Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation boss Al Mucci, insisted the state had been largely “forgotten” in the package.