3 billion animals killed or displaced in Black Summer bushfires, study estimates

Almost 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other animals are estimated to have been killed or displaced in Australia's 'Black Summer' bushfires, according to an updated study trebling the previous estimate of 1 billion. Key points: Scientists revised the figure up after calculating the effects of fire outside NSW and on additional species The estimate includes 2.46 billion reptiles and 180 million birds believed killed or displaced The researchers believe the only comparable wildlife disasters in recent history are major oil spills in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico It is the worst single event for wildlife in Australia, among the worst in the world and is likely to push some species into extinction, according to the study, funded by WWF Australia. "It's almost inconceivable that so many animals would be lost and displaced," said University of Sydney professor Chris Dickman, who coordinated the study. Professor Dickman said those surveys had been "systematically downgraded and defunded over the last 20 years to the point where we really don't have any decent long-term monitoring projects underway". Professor Dickman said it was, "quite likely that we're going to get more and more big fires of the kind that we saw over the last fire season".