December 08, 2006
Australia Fire Season Begins; Koalas Early Victims
The Aussie fire season is underway and unfortunately one area hit hard is a Koala preserve.
Reuters reports;
"CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- Bushfires may have wiped out one of the last remaining outposts of healthy Australian koalas, scientists and animal rescue experts said on Monday.
Park rangers and specialist rescue teams from Sydney's Taronga Zoo have been searching for two days for surviving koalas in a vast tract of bushland in which wildfires have been burning uncontrolled for more than two days.
"The fear is that koalas can't really move fast along the ground to get away from the fires and unfortunately many probably will have been killed," a Taronga Zoo said.
The fires are burning in the Pilliga scrub nature reserve, 350 kilometers (217 miles) northwest of Sydney, which is home to one of Australia's most genetically diverse koala colonies.
"The Pilliga scrub contains thousands of koalas and is one of the healthiest colonies in genetic terms," the zoo spokeswoman said. "The hope is that some will have been able to break across firebreaks."
Reuters reports;
"CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- Bushfires may have wiped out one of the last remaining outposts of healthy Australian koalas, scientists and animal rescue experts said on Monday.
Park rangers and specialist rescue teams from Sydney's Taronga Zoo have been searching for two days for surviving koalas in a vast tract of bushland in which wildfires have been burning uncontrolled for more than two days.
"The fear is that koalas can't really move fast along the ground to get away from the fires and unfortunately many probably will have been killed," a Taronga Zoo said.
The fires are burning in the Pilliga scrub nature reserve, 350 kilometers (217 miles) northwest of Sydney, which is home to one of Australia's most genetically diverse koala colonies.
"The Pilliga scrub contains thousands of koalas and is one of the healthiest colonies in genetic terms," the zoo spokeswoman said. "The hope is that some will have been able to break across firebreaks."
