Australia is dropping thousands of pounds of vegetables from helicopters for hungry animals escaping the bush fires in an effort called Operation Rock Wallaby.
According to the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, part of the post-fire recovery efforts include dropping more than 4,400 pounds of sweet potatoes and carrots across different areas in the last week.
“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. Initial fire assessments indicate the habitat of several important brush-tailed rock wallaby populations was burnt in recent bush fires,” stated Matt Kean, minister of energy and environment.
Even though many of the wallabies survived, their food sources have disappeared and the animals have been left with limited natural food as the fire destroyed most of the vegetation. The animals are all under stress and likely could not survive without assistance.
The supplementary food will continue to be dropped until sufficient natural resources and water become available post fire.
Brush-tailed rock wallabies are similar to kangaroos, but most have disappeared and are now considered a threatened species.
More than half a billion animals have been impacted by the fires; with millions assumed to have died in the fires or as a direct result. Included in the deaths are birds, reptiles and mammals. If insects and frogs are included in the tragic tabs, the death toll could be as high as half a billion according to local ecologists.
If you would like to help support the efforts of wonderful people providing the desperately-needed expertise and care for injured wildlife, please donate here: https://secure.animalsaustralia.org/donate/bushfire.php…
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