The internet is usually dominated by cat videos, but over the past few weeks, it’s been koalas and kangaroos that have stolen the limelight.

Australia’s raging bushfires are estimated to have killed in excess of a billion animals, and that figure excludes fish, frogs, bats and insects.

Nothing pulls on the heartstrings quite like a video of an animal in pain, but the effects of this ‘megafire’ will be felt for many generations to come.

In fact, the very survival of certain animal species is now under threat. Whilst ecologists say the full extent of the impact won’t be known until they’ve had a chance to assess the worst affected areas, those in the know have already pinpointed concerns.

Via the Guardian, here are some of the species that experts hold concern for.

Glossy black-cockatoo (Kangaroo Island sub-species)

Kangaroo Island is home to a unique sub-species of Glossy black-cockatoo and there are grave fears extensive areas of critical habitat have burned in fires that have devastated two-thirds of the island.

In particular, there are concerns for the birds’ nesting habitat. Two decades of conservation work by the Kangaroo Island community had brought numbers from as low as 150 in the 1990s to as high as 400 before the fires. Preliminary analysis suggests 50%-60% of their habitat has burned.

 Kangaroo Island dunnart

 Even before the fires, there were concerns for the future of the Kangaroo Island dunnart, a small marsupial found nowhere else in Australia. The species is listed as endangered under national environment law and there are fears the fires may have wiped out the animals.

Ecologists have spoken about how cameras they set up to monitor the species in its habitat melted in the flames.

While you may not recognise either of those animals above, this next one is going to leave a mark.

Koala

The fires in northern New South Wales in October and November tore through key koala habitat in areas including Port Macquarie. Fires in East Gippsland in Victoria have also burnt through bushland where the species is found.

Additionally, the species was introduced to Kangaroo Island in the 1920s and the island is home to Australia’s only populations of the species that are chlamydia-free.

That’s right, all mainland koalas have chlamydia, so there’s something they have in common with your ex.

There are still populations in other parts of the country that haven’t been affected by the fires, and despite some reports suggesting the species may be functionally extinct, that is thankfully still some way off.

Next up, the humble Hastings River mouse:

The Hastings River mouse is a small rodent that was already endangered under national environment laws before fire tore through its habitat in northern NSW. It is one of the species that experts will be looking to assess on the ground as not much is known about how it responds to fire.

There are populations outside of fire-affected northern NSW, but the impact on its habitat in that region is believed to be large.

In addition to the Glossy black-cockatoo we mentioned earlier, another bird, the Regent honeyeater, is also under threat, along with the Blue Mountains water skink, which is unique to NSW’s Blue Mountains range.

Let’s move along and focus on an animal that is an Australian icon, the Brush-tailed rock-wallaby:

The brush-tailed rock-wallaby is listed as a vulnerable species nationally, and endangered in NSW. When fires destroy native vegetation they reduce the available habitat and food for species, even if they survive the blaze.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has been conducting air drops of carrots and sweet potatoes for brush-tailed rock-wallabies in ]affected] areas…

You can read more about the carrot and potato drop here.

Whilst South Africans will be familiar with the quagga, Down Under, they have the Quokka. There is no relation:

Bushfires in the Stirling Range in Western Australia have destroyed key mainland habitat for the quokka. While the species has its stronghold on Rottnest Island, its mainland populations are feared to have taken a major hit as a result of the bushfires.

Fires also make the animals more vulnerable to predators such as foxes and cats.

All in all, ecologists are fearful for the survival of at least 12 species, and more will be added to that list once they can take a closer look at how the various ecosystems have been impacted.

Combined with the loss of human life, believed to be 27 people across the country, it is a tragedy of epic proportions.

[source:guardian]