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Sadly, the adorable and defenseless koalas have been the species to be hit the hardest, due to their slow moving nature. It is reported that up to 8000 (a third of the koala population) have been destroyed in less than four months.
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Koalas sit inside a home in Cudlee Creek, South Australia, after being rescued from fires at a garden.
Nature Conservation Council ecologist Mark Grahamtold parliament, "The fires have burned so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies."
"(Koalas) really have no capacity to move fast enough to get away" as the flames jumped from treetop to treetop, he said.
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Dr Kellie Leigh, Science for Wildlife executive director, told the hearing that there are no resources or plans in plce to help save the koalas.
"We're getting a lot of lessons out of this and it's just showing how unprepared we are," Dr Leigh said.
"There's no procedures or protocols in place — even wildlife carers don't have protocols for when they can go in after fire."
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Environment Minister Sussan Ley said true animal death figures would not be known until "the fires have calmed down and a proper assessment can be made".
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