Australian wildfires killed or displaced nearly 3 billion animals, claims World Wildlife Fund report

Wildfires that ravaged the Australian bush for eight months devastated continental wildlife.

Nearly 3 billion animals were either killed, injured or displaced by the blazes, according to a sobering report released Tuesday by the World Wildlife Fund.

While the infernos claimed the lives of at least 29 people and damaged thousands of buildings, according to The Daily Telegraph, a staggering 46 million acres had been charred.

The WWF report states that 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, 143 million mammals and 51 million frogs were either injured or died from the fire.

“It’s a difficult number to comprehend,” explained University of Sydney terrestrial ecology professor Christopher Dickman.

The comprehensive analysis included 10 scientists who scrutinized more than 28 million acres.

The bushfires chomped unabated through forests and plains during the Down Under hot season but was more devastating due to climate change woes, notably extensive drought.

“We believe a continent-wide assessment of the number of animals that might be impacted has never been done in Australia before or anywhere else in the world,” noted study leader Dr. Lily Van Eeden. “Other nations can build upon this research to improve understanding of fire impacts everywhere.”

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Among the report’s recommendations are establishing emergency teams to assist species impacted by fire, improving habitat connectivity in order to allow animals to flee fires, securing uncharred habitats that are crucial to threatened species as well as improving fire prevention and management.

Dickman observed that the data indicates how severely fires — especially of great magnitude — can dissolve the ecology. He emphasized that to ensure the survival of species there must be a collective driving force focused on improving the situation.

“How quickly can we decarbonize?” asked Dickman. “How quickly can we stop our manic land clearing?”