DECEMBER 10, 2019
by Ryan R. Witt, Chad T. Beranek, John Clulow, John Rodger, Lachlan G. Howell and Robert Scanlon, The Conversation
Thousands of koalas may have died in fires burning through New South Wales but expert evidence to a state parliamentary inquiry on Monday said we are unlikely to ever know the real numbers.
Unprecedented fires have burned through millions of hectares of forest, including koala habitat and rainforests untouched by fire for thousands of years.
The devastation won't stop once the fires are out. Koala populations that survive the fires could be cut off from each other, lowering their genetic diversity and threatening their long-term survival.
To protect Australia's iconic koalas we need to start freezing their genetic material. With more investment in the fast-developing field of cryogenics, koala hospitals could start taking samples from their patients, creating a vital lifeline for the species as a whole.
Koala-threatening fires are getting worse
Fire seasons are starting earlier, lasting longer and becoming more intense, made worse by climate change.
This season, there is an above-average risk of serious fires across an extensive range of koala habitat on Australia's east coast.
Experts at the NSW inquiry estimated about 2,000 koalas may have died in fires already this year, and the destruction of habitat means further population declines are inevitable. With areas not usually threatened by fires now at risk, we need new plans for future conservation.
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