Bushfire & Koala Appeal

Please help us help the koalas that were injured in the fires DONATE NOW
Update from the Carers 30 March 2009 Peter Haydon, Wildlife Rescue and Protection Inc. It seems we are finally at the end of the fire storms. We have been searching through Wilson's Promontory National Park with mixed results. Several joey wallabies have been found with minor burns and are receiving treatment, but many mature wallabies and kangaroos with bad burns had to be euthanased. There has been little evidence of small mammals in any condition. Wombats, emus and echidnas seemed to have survived remarkably well. Only one koala was recovered from the Prom. She is receiving treatment for an old eye injury. The situation has varied in most fire areas we attended. We recovered over 50 koalas suffering burns or extreme dehydration from the Boolarra and Woodside fires but had little sign of any other species. In other fire zones of similar habitat high numbers of healthy macropods were found but not a single live koala. Each fire seems to have had its own characteristics which have resulted in drastically varying outcomes. There are now several hundred animals in the care of our members and all we can do from now onwards is to strive for the highest survival and recovery rates we can manage. We are indebted to organisations like the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and its supporters from across the world. Thank you very much.

The pictures of the devastating fires in Victoria and the human tragedies are touching people around the world. Their overwhelming response in donating to support the victims is much needed and will help rebuild the affected communities.

While the losses to the people are our greatest concern, our wildlife is in great need of help too.

More than 300,000 hectares of forest have been burnt.

Hundreds of koalas may have been killed in the fires, and thousands more are injured, often burning their paws and noses as they try to climb smouldering trees. The number of Australian wildlife killed in the blazes will be in the 100,000s, and entire populations may have been wiped out.

You can help us support the volunteer wildlife carers who work around the clock to rescue and nurse burnt koalas, gliders and other wildlife back to health.

Most koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and other animals come into care with burns, smoke inhalation and serious dehydration. Treatment includes burn dressings (much the same manner as humans are treated), saline drips for dehydration and medications including painkillers and antibiotics.

Depending on the injuries koalas can take 2 to 12 months to recover and fully rehabilitate to the point where they can return to the wild either close to where they were found or a similar unburnt area. The forests will recover and renew quickly but it will take decades before they have the capacity to support large populations of wildlife again.

Caring for a koala costs about $50 a day, and the volunteer wildlife carers fund most of this out of their own pockets.

Every donation, no matter how small will provide vital medical supplies, housing or food for the animals in need;

You have already donated more than AUD26,300 to this appeal, and your support is helping the following volunteer groups;

• Wildlife Rescue and Information Network WRIN;
  For burn treatment of rescued animals and purchase of protective clothing and equipment to enter fire grounds.

• WRAP / BADGAR Emergency Wildlife Rescue;
  For rescue of wildlife, especially koalas affected in the Gippsland are
  
  
• Wildlife Rescue North Eastern Victoria
  To rebuild wildlife shelters that were destroyed in the fires in the North East and for care of rescued animals
  
  
• Wildlife Victoria
  To provide carers with fire-proof equipment, cages, medical supplies and food for the animals
  
  
• Help for Wildlife
  To purchase medical supplies to care for rescued injured wildlfie
  

An animal with burns can take many months to recover, and the work of these volunteers has only just begun. Please give generously if you can to ensure the rescue and rehabilitation of as many animals as possible.

The pictures on this page were provided by Help for Wildlife and show some of the animals rescued and rehabilitated by their volunteers.

Impact of bushfires on koalas

For decades the Foundation funded research into the impact of bushfires on koalas, collecting data and knowledge that now assists with the immediate manage ment of the current disaster. Koalas are in decline across much of their mainland range and are already on the threatened species list in NSW.

Their coastal habitat shrinks and becomes fragmented, while human development grows.

Land clearing and housing development affect both the size of habitat and the availability of appropriate food tree species. Although there are many species of Eucalypt in Australia, only a few are suitable food sources for koalas. Popular food trees, though they vary throughout the species’ range, include River Red gum, Yellow Box, Tallowwood, Small-leafed peppermint and Drooping Red gum.

Koalas come to ground to move between trees, and many are killed by dogs. Roads often dissect koala habitat, and numerous koala injuries and deaths are caused by cars.

In a fragmented habitat, bushfires are particularly devastating, and the loss of some animals can mean the end of an entire population. Decades of research however have shown that we can rehabilitate and release bushfire affected animals with great success. Please read on to learn about the pilot studies and how you can help the volunteers on the ground save the animals.

When nature itself strikes koalas with bushfires, the survival of entire populations becomes a matter of minutes and hours. Bushfires kill some koalas directly because they are such exposed animals. On fire perimeters they can be injured, often by being burnt on their paws and noses as they try to climb smouldering trees.

The impact of a bushfire on a koala population depends on how much unburnt habitat with surviving koalas remains with recolonisation as the key to survival.

Fires restrict the movements of koalas in the burnt bush, and populations only remain genetically healthy if there is a small but constant exchange between populations. Results from earlier studies suggest that due to habitat fragmentation bushfires may well lead to the local extinction of many NSW koala populations.

Funded by the Foundation, DEC scientists Dan Lunney, Shaan Gresser and Alison Matthews have dedicated years of research to the impact of bushfires on the Port Stephens koala population. The results of their work have been used in the management planning for koalas not only in Port Stephens but also on a state and national level.

The project started after the devastating bushfires in 1994, which destroyed half of the prime koala habitat in Port Stephens. Along with the dedicated efforts of the Native Animal Trust Fund volunteers to rescue injured koalas from burnt bush and take them into care, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service set up a study to determine the survival of koalas in burnt bush.

The release of rehabilitated koalas into the bush raised questions to whether their survival in the wild would be as successful as their rehabilitation. Radio transmitters helped to monitor the koalas’ movements after release and to collect information such as breeding success of females, home range size, food tree species, health status and the major threats to the individuals’ survival. The study compared breeding success, presence of disease, changes in weight, home range and movement patterns, and the fate of released koalas with those that were not burnt.

Many of the rehabilitated koalas did survive in the regenerating forest but like those that had survived unharmed in the bush, they are threatened by dog attacks as they move through the bush at ground level to find new, unburnt habitat.

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife supported both the scientists' work as well as the wildlife care volunteers from the Native Animal Trust Fund.

We must apply our knowledge now to help the volunteers help the animals that were injured in the recent bushfires. We know that with dedicated care rehabilitation is possible. Please help us support the volunteers on the ground with your donation today.