Неизвестный (Unknown)SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The bush fires raging in Australia have likely killed or injured thousands of koalas, further stressing the national icon's fragile population, wildlife experts said Friday. Koala populations are already threatened by human development.
Many of those populations will be diminished drastically by the fires burning across New South Wales state and may not rebuild for 15 years, the National Parks and Wildlife Service said.
"Koalas are vulnerable. They are slow moving," Service Director Brian Gilligan said. "No doubt many thousands of koalas have either been killed or injured in the fires."
Eucalyptus trees have a high oil content and are extremely combustible. Often, the wildfires engulf a tree before koalas have the chance to escape.
"What they would do is climb to the tops of trees and roll themselves into a ball, covering their sensitive parts such as their nose, ears and eyes," said John Callaghan, chief ecologist of the Australian Koala Foundation.
"If they manage to survive by doing this, they still often end up with severe burns and respiratory problems."
Koala population numbers have been cut by the destruction of forests. Until they were formally granted protection in the 1930s, millions were shot by hunters for their soft fur.
Although not officially listed as an endangered species, koalas are regarded by wildlife experts as threatened. The Australian Koala Foundation, which wants greater protection for the species, estimates the national koala population at fewer than 100,000. The latest fires sweeping across Australia could affect the koala's ultimate survival. Close to 1.2 million acres of land, most of it eucalyptus forests where koalas thrive, have been razed in the "black Christmas" fires. About half of the 100 fires were deliberately set, officials said.