Australia wildfires: More than 100 species need ‘urgent help’ after habitats destroyed

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Australian officials have identified more than 100 species in need of urgent help after wildfires ravaged their habitats – with koalas, platypus and pygmy-possums among the list of high priority animals. The provisional list includes 13 birds, 19 mammals, 20 reptiles, 17 frogs, 5 invertebrates, 22 spiny crayfish and 17 freshwater fish species – with some at imminent risk of extinction. In particular species like the Kangaroo Island Dunnart – a small mouse-like marsupial – Pugh’s Frog and the Blue Mountains Water Skink are all at risk of dying out due to the scale of the damage top their habitats as well as pre-existing threats. “Some of these animals play important roles in our native ecosystems and their recovery from the fires is important to ecosystem function.” The loss of hundreds of millions of animals in the country over the bushfire season comes amid broader concerns over the state of biodiversity on the planet – with studies warning the globe could currently be in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event, the first to be caused by humanity’s interaction with the natural world.