I think that by now everyone has heard about the devastating fires in Australia. The amount of wildlife decimated by these fires is truly shocking, and the human lives lost will never be forgotten. So far it has been estimated that over a billion animals have died so far in these fires, including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and insects, but until the fires are over it is difficult to tell the true effects and lasting impacts of these events. Many animal species have been possibly wiped out entirely.

Fig. 1 Map of the Fires in Australia

Kangaroo Island is home to many unique species not found anywhere else in Australia, and with the fires causing such extensive damage, some of these wonderful animals may now be extinct. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is one of these threatened species, as it is estimated that sixty percent of their nesting sites and habitats have been completely destroyed by the fires. Conservation efforts before the fires had brought the birds back from near extinction before, but now all we can do is wait and see how they are affected. Another Kangaroo Island resident in danger is the Kangaroo Island Dunnart, a small marsupial that was already a threatened species before the fires. It is now feared that the species is completely gone, as all of the cameras set up to monitor the last known populations have actually melted due to the extreme heat from these fires.

Fig. 2 Kangaroo in the Glow of a Fire

A classic animal known around the world is the Koala, but these creatures that have captured many people’s hearts are now fighting for their lives. So far an estimated 30% of their population has been wiped out, and the population on Kangaroo Island has been especially hit hard. Even though there has been so much population loss for the Koalas, there is some good news as there are still populations living in areas unaffected by the fires, most likely guaranteeing the survival of this wonderful species.

Many more species have been affected by these fires including the Hastings River Mouse, Regent Honeyeater, Blue Mountains water skink, Brush-tailed rock wallaby, Southern corroboree frog, Quokka, western ground parrot, Northern eastern bristlebird, and the greater glider. These species have been hit hard by these fires, but some are projected to recover, but no one truly knows the lasting effects of these devastating flames. One of the potential lasting effects comes from the loss of the bees. Losing whole populations of bees throws off the entire ecosystem and could take decades to recover.

This whole fire situation is extremely worrying as entire species are being wiped off the map. We’ve just got to hope that they can be gotten under control soon and don’t do any more extensive damage to the already vulnerable populations of animals in Australia.