Nearly 3 billion Animals affected due to Australia bushfires: Study
Sydney: Nearly three billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia's unprecedented 2019-20 wildfires in "one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history", according to a report released Tuesday.
The study by scientists from several Australian universities said the wildlife hit included 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, and 51 million frogs.
While the report did not say how many animals died because of the fires, the prospects for those that escaped the flames "were probably not great" due to a lack of food, shelter, and protection from predators, said Chris Dickman, one of its authors.
The fires ravaged more than 115,000 square kilometers (44,000 square miles) of drought-stricken bushland and forest across Australia in late 2019 and early 2020, killing more than 30 people and destroying thousands of homes.
It was the broadest and most prolonged bushfire season in modern Australian history, with scientists attributing the severity of the crisis to the impacts of climate change.
An earlier study in January estimated the fires had killed a billion animals in the hardest-hit eastern states of New South Wales and Victoria. But the survey released Tuesday was the first to cover fire zones across the continent, said lead scientist Lily van Eeden of the University of Sydney.
Results from the survey were still being processed, with a final report due to be released late next month, but the authors said the number of three billion animals affected was unlikely to change.
"The interim findings are shocking," said Dermot O'Gorman, CEO of the Australian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature, which commissioned the report.
"It's hard to think of another event anywhere in the world in living memory that has killed or displaced that many animals," he said.
"This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history."
The plight of Australia's popular koalas during the fires garnered international media attention, with thousands of the tree-dwelling marsupials believed to have perished.
But a government report early this year cited 100 other threatened native plant and animal species that had lost more than half their habitat to the blazes, raising the prospect of far greater losses.
Scientists say global warming is lengthening Australia's summers and making them increasingly dangerous, with shorter winters making it more difficult to carry out bushfire prevention work.
The report released Tuesday was drawn up by scientists from the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Newcastle, Charles Sturt University, and conservation group BirdLife Australia.
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Ballari clash: Sriramulu, Janardhana Reddy hold press meet; statue unveiling postponed
Ballari: Former minister B Sriramulu and Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy addressed a joint press conference on Friday, a day after a violent clash broke out between rival Reddy groups over the installation of banners ahead of the Valmiki statue unveiling programme in the city.
Speaking to reporters, Sriramulu said the death of Rajasekhar Reddy, who was killed by a gunshot during the clash, was painful. He said he and his party would stand by the victim’s family and extend support to them. Alleging that Ballari MLA Nara Bharath Reddy was responsible for the incident, Sriramulu demanded legal action against him and called for a thorough probe to establish whose bullet caused Rajasekhar Reddy’s death.
Sriramulu further alleged that the clash was premeditated, claiming that a group had come near their residence with petrol-filled beer bottles and stones, allegedly with the intention of attacking them. He also alleged that there was an attempt to assault Janardhana Reddy.
Janardhana Reddy, addressing the media, said the incident had made him fear for his life. He alleged that there was an attempt to kill him and held Bharath Reddy responsible for the violence. Former minister Somasekhar Reddy, BJP Ballari district leaders and party workers were also present at the press meet.
The clash occurred on Thursday night in the Havambhavi area when rival groups confronted each other over putting up banners for the Valmiki statue unveiling scheduled for January 3. During the violence, a Congress worker was shot dead. Police have registered four separate cases in connection with the incident, including one taken up suo motu.
Responding to the allegations, Ballari MLA Bharath Reddy said the party was mourning the loss of its worker, Rajasekhar Reddy, whom he described as a close associate. He accused Janardhana Reddy of trying to divert attention from illegal mining issues and said the death had cast a shadow over the planned celebrations. He announced that the Valmiki statue unveiling programme had been postponed due to the prevailing atmosphere of grief.
Meanwhile, Ballari Rural MLA B Nagendra confirmed that the statue unveiling event had been temporarily deferred following the clash and on the advice of the Chief Minister. He said the programme would be held on a later date under the leadership of the Chief Minister and senior ministers. Nagendra also criticised Janardhana Reddy, saying there was no place for what he described as a “Republic of Ballari” mindset under the present administration, and asserted that the government would not allow any form of intimidation or lawlessness.
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