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Season for bush fires and bush koalas


As Australia approaches summer, the season of bush fires, there have already been significant bush fire threats across the country.

At the same time, the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra (Canberra Weekly, October 4, 2012), announced the birth of a female Southern Koala as part of a national breeding program. Her name is Matilda, and she joins two other resident koalas, Winston and Eucky, at the zoo. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) around Canberra koala numbers are declining due to reduced or destroyed habitat – and bush fires.

Koala breeding season is from September to February: the height of the bush fire summer season. Gestation for koalas is about 35 day, so many of the new koalas during the summer will be quite young and vulnerable. A memorable image of the Victorian bush fires of February 2009 was Sam the Koala drinking from a fire fighter’s water bottle. Sam became famous as the “face” of the fire season, as it grabbed the fire fighter’s hand. The badly burned Sam became a symbol of hope for the survivors of the deadly bush fires that killed 173 people and left 7,500 homeless. During the fires, 22 koalas, 14 ringtail possums, several wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos were rescued and handed to wildlife carers.

However, Sam, the four-year-old koala, rescued from the fires, was diagnosed with burns to her paws and she was in a lot of pain. Recovering at the Mountain Ash Wildlife Shelter, she was administered an IV drip, antibiotics and pain relief treatment. However she developed cysts. Just before Sam was due to have surgery in August, the vet noticed that Sam – a female – had non-operable damage to her urinary and reproductive tracts. She was euthanized on August 6, 2009, and her body was moved to the Melbourne Museum for preservation as a symbol of the bush fires.

Canberra and the ACT experienced devastating bushfires in January 2003, which caused the loss of 4 lives, left over 500 homeless, and destroyed tree plantations, animals and animal habitats. Almost 70% of the territory’s pine forests and nature parks were damaged. The ACT Emergency Services Agency is encouraging Canberrans, and residents in dry locations, to prepare a Bushfire Survival Plan for the summer season. The official start of the bush fire season is October 1. The Bushfire Survival Plan’s motto is: Prepare. Act. Survive.

The factors that most determine the possibility, threat, and extent of a bush fire are rainfall, temperature, and wind. Having a Bushfire Survival Plan includes preparatory actions such as cutting long grass, clearing timber and long branches, and removing leaves from roof gutters. Bushfire Survival Plans can be downloaded from the ACT’s Emergency Services Agency website at esa.act.gov.au.

Anyone who finds injured wildlife should call Wildlife Connect on 13-11-11.

The photo image is from www.abc.net.au

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