The world is in shock by the photos and videos revealing the terrible consequences of the raging fires in Australia have been posted on social media.

Australia is in the middle of a bushfire crisis, and people from all around the world are doing their best to help the country and the casualties.

Experts estimate that a billion animals have perished in the flames, and those who remained alive are at risk of death due to hunger or injuries.

The goal of the ‘Operation Rock Wallaby’ by the Wildlife Service and the NSW National Parks is to save the endangered wildlife, and it involves sending aircraft to feed the countless starving animals.

To save the hungry animals, mainly the small-eared rock-wallabies, the New South Wales government has been dropping thousands of kilograms of sweet potato and carrots over Capertee and Wolgan valleys, Yengo National Park, Kangaroo Valley, Jenolan, Oxley Wild Rivers, and Curracubundi national parks.

According to Matt Kean, New South Wales Environment Minister, many animals that have managed to escape are now challenged to stay alive due to the limited natural food.

Minister Kean said:

“The provision of supplementary food is one of the key strategies we are deploying to promote the survival and recovery of endangered species like the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby.”

The wallabies have been challenged even before the bushfires, due to the drought that affected their habitat.

He added:

“The wallabies typically survive the fire itself but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat.

The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance.”

Mr. Kean explained that they are using cameras to monitor the uptake of food and the number and variety of animals.

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Nature Campaigner Jess Abrahams said that these measures are a short-term, but “sensible emergency response”.

Yet, he stressed that the federal government needs to invest more in long-term recovery since climate change leads to more frequent and intense fires.

“I can’t underline how urgent it is, and we need to take real action on climate change nationally and globally if we want to protect our beautiful wildlife. This may well push them over the brink which is a terrible thought, and shows how vulnerable our wildlife are to changes in the natural environment.”

Charities mainly rely on donations to lease planes and buy the needed supplies for dropping.

Animals Australia Spokeswoman, Lyn White, said that their main goal now is to make sure the survived animals don’t die from a lack of food:

“With roads likely shut for weeks, the risk of starvation for surviving wildlife in the area is very real. It would be tragic if there was a further loss of life because the needs of surviving animals were not being met.”

Sources:
www.goanimals.co
www.smh.com.au
www.thesun.ie
www.dailymail.co.uk