More than 100 animal species have been declared in need of “urgent help” after devastating bushfires in Australia decimated numbers and destroyed habitats.
Almost all the 113 species on the list have lost at least 30 per cent of their habitat due to the widespread blazes which have ravaged the country’s South and East since September.
The government’s Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel said koalas and wallabies, as well as bird and fish species were among the worst affected.
The list was based on the devastation to their habitat, their status prior to the fires and their vulnerability to fires due to their physical, behavioural and ecological traits, the report said.
It consisted of 13 birds, 19 mammals, 20 reptiles, 17 frogs, five invertebrate, 22 crayfish, and 17 freshwater fish.
While some of the animals included on the list were already endangered, a number of the species were not.
Some of the most endangered species, including the Blue Mountains water skink, the Pugh’s frog and the Kangaroo Island dunnart faced an “imminent risk of extinction”, as most of their habitat had been scorched.
Other species, including the koala and platypus, are also under urgent threat, and need “emergency intervention” to support their recovery.
“Some species were considered threatened before the fires, and the fires have now likely increased their risk of extinction,” a summary of the report read.
“Many other fire-affected animal species were considered secure and not threatened before the fires, but have now lost much of their habitat and may be imperilled.”
Some of the aquatic creatures have been included because “they occur downstream of burnt areas, and will probably experience large mortality events if heavy rain washes large volumes of ash and sediment down waterways”.
However, proper analysis of the damage could not be carried out due to ongoing blazes in some areas.
Sarah Legge, a wildlife ecologist on the expert panel, said the list was just a “first cut”. “As we learn more about how species have responded on the ground, we will improve this list,” she said.
“More species might go on to it, but I’m hoping some will come off.”
Experts have previously estimated more than one billion animals may have been wiped out by the bushfires, which have swept through large areas of forest and grassland.
The massive fires, which have been dubbed the “black summer”, have killed 33 people and sent 12 million hectares (29.7 million acres) up in smoke.
The report comes after torrential rain hit much of the east coast in recent days, extinguishing fires across New South Wales.
About 30 fires are thought to have been put out by the storms, leaving only four uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
The Australian government has promised A$50 million (£26 million) to help wildlife and habitat affected by the fires.
