The Australian authorities have included 15 species of animals in the endangered list. On Tuesday, October 4, the government announced the launch of a 10-year program to save 110 endangered species and their habitats, Time magazine reports.
According to the Minister of Environment and Water Resources Tanya Plibersek, the fires that swept the country in 2019-2020 had a disastrous effect on many species of wildlife.
“We intend to give wildlife more chances. Adding animals to the list of endangered species is an important step in the protection of nature,” the Minister noted.
Among the endangered animals, in particular, the white-breasted wallaby from the kangaroo family, koala, quokka (short-tailed kangaroo), platypus and hairy wombat are named. The government intends to allocate 1.69 billion Australian dollars (about $1.1 billion) per year for environmental measures.
Earlier, on January 20, it became known that the Australian authorities will allocate $ 35 million for the protection and restoration of koala habitat. Investments will be received over the next four years. It was clarified that since 2018, about 30% of Australian koalas have died due to forest fires, drought and other factors.
The strongest forest fires broke out in Australia in the fall of 2019. As a result, more than a billion animals died. For a long time, rescuers could not stop the fire until heavy rains came to the region and extinguished more than 8 million hectares of forest and about 2 thousand residential buildings.
After large-scale fires, the first koala was born only on May 27, 2020. The animal was born in the reptile park, which is located in the state of New South Wales. The baby got the name Ash, which means “ashes” in translation.
On November 9, 2021, it was reported that Australian firefighters starred in a candid photo shoot for the calendar for 2022. The men posed, including with animals, as the action was held in their defense. Firefighters could be seen in the company of koalas, cats, dogs and other pets. Funds from the sale of calendars went to community groups that rescue and treat animals in trouble.