With the help of aircraft, thousands of hungry wildlife stranded in the Australian bushfire crises is being given food.
The government of New South Wales has begun food drops and has dropped thousands of kilos of sweet potatoes and carrots to feed the colonies of rock wallabies.
The parks service has spent last week completing the drops for the colonies of rock wallabies in designated areas.
Until now, they’ve dropped more than 2200 kilos of fresh veggies for the critters.
Animals Fled from Fires, but Are Now Starving
According to environment minister of NSW, Matt Kean, even though a lot of animals have fled the fires, they’re now without food.
Wallabies usually survive the fire itself, but then are limited in terms of natural food that’s been destroyed by the fires.
Without assistance, their survival is very challenging. Kean also added that they’ll monitor the native species to see their progress after the recoveries from the fires.
When they’re able to, they’re setting cameras to check the food consumption and the number of animals in these areas.
Many Animals Have Lost their Lives in the Disastrous Bushfires
Unfortunately, according to WWF estimates, around 1.25 billion animals have directly or indirectly died from the fires raging through Australia.
WWF-Australia CEO said that this heartbreaking loss involves precious koalas and other iconic species like gliders, kangaroos, wallabies, cockatoos, potoroos, and honeyeaters.
The rock wallaby is one of the main species for which the food drop initiative has been launched. They’ve already been deemed at risk due to the fires destroying their habitats.
In the meantime, the Animals Australia charity has been deploying aircraft as means of food transport for injured and burnt wildlife in Victoria region.
They’ve been using donations to lease small planes and then fill them with grain and pellets to distribute in the regions affected by the fires.
Two planes of food and veterinary supplies were also sent for the animals around the Mallacoota fires.
According to Lyn White, spokeswoman for Animals Australia, they’re working very hard to ensure the surviving wildlife doesn’t die as a result of starvation.
It would be tragic, she adds, if the loss of lives continues.
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