PORT MACQUARIE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 19: An injured koala receives treatment after its rescue from a ... [+] bushfire at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital on November 19, 2019 in Port Macquarie, Australia. (Photo by Tao Shelan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) VCG via Getty Images
As Australia experiences record-breaking drought and bushfires, koala populations have dwindled along with their habitat, leaving them “functionally extinct.”
The chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation, Deborah Tabart, estimates that over 1,000 koalas have been killed from the fires and that 80 percent of their habitat has been destroyed.
Recent bushfires, along with prolonged drought and deforestation has led to koalas becoming “functionally extinct” according to experts.
Functional extinction is when a population becomes so limited that they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem and the population becomes no longer viable. While some individuals could produce, the limited number of koalas makes the long-term viability of the species unlikely and highly susceptible to disease.
Koala rescued from the recent Australian bushfires https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-thirsty-koalas-devastated-by-recent-fires/campaign/gallery/0
Deforestation and bushfires destroy the main nutrient source of koalas, the eucalyptus tree. An adult koala will eat up to 2 pounds of eucalyptus leaves per day as it’s main staple of nutrients. While eucalyptus plants will grow back after a fire, it will take months, leaving no suitable food source for koalas and starvation a likely scenario for many.
Many are urging the Australian government to enact the Koala Protection Act, written in 2016 but never passed into law and molded after the Bald Eagle Protection Act in the U.S. The Koala Protection Act would work to protect habitats and trees vital to koalas as well as protect koalas from hunting.
Recent viral videos of Australians rescuing koalas has led to increased donation to support hospitalization and help for burned koalas.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital setup a Go Fund Me page seeking donations to help the hospital treat injured koalas. To date, they have raised $1.33 million, well over their $25,000 goal. This comes from over 30,000 donors.
Go Fund Me for koala aid https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-thirsty-koalas-devastated-by-recent-fires
Part of their effort is to install drinking stations for koalas in areas devastated by the fires. The funds will also be used for a “Koala Ark” as a refuge for burned koalas to live in a healthy habitat during rehabilitation.
GotThemBabyLungs on November 24th, 2019 at 00:16 UTC »
Prime minister has told Australians to ignore all the fire, deaths ,destruction and smoke and concentrate on the upcoming cricket.
He also gave ‘thoughts and prayers’
TakeshiKovacsSleeve3 on November 23rd, 2019 at 20:59 UTC »
And land-owners clear legally and illegally (not sure which is worse) the rest. The fact is there were eight million a couple of hundreds years ago and less than fifty thousand a year ago. They were functionally pretty fucken close to being extinct before the fires. So let's not blame one incident in their demise when the truth is their habitat has been decimated for centuries by cutting down their ranges and the impact on the populations of koalas has been well documented and understood.
CONCRETE_LUBRICATOR on November 23rd, 2019 at 20:24 UTC »
oh fuck