The Fire Season Erupts !

This coming summer will probably be perilous for Koalas and all the other native Australian animals that live in the bush.   It is feared that the fires burning near Port Macquarie have killed somewhere between two hundred and three hundred and fifty of these already dwindling marsupials.  The rural fire service people are preparing for a long, hot summer and the ongoing drought is making the forests a tinderbox.

Sydney is getting a taste of what is to come with smoke blanketing the city.   The big danger comes from lightening strikes setting fires in the deep bush where fighting them is difficult.  Koala habitat is already shrinking and the Koala is fast becoming an endangered species.

A lot will depend on the generosity and goodwill of people living on the fringe of these fire zones. There is the expectation than survivors may wander into their yards looking for water and it is important that residents not only make sure water is available but also alert the wildlife rescue people so help can be given.  Undernourished and burned Koalas are taken into care and released back into  the bush once they have sufficiently recovered.

So far this fire season several dozen country residents have lost their homes to fire.  There is probably worse to come once the really hot weather arrives and if this drought persists, but we are a resilient race and homes lost will be rebuilt.   For the animals that call the bush " home " these fires are a complete disaster.  Everything they knew has been swept away and that includes their food supply,.

It is not only Koalas, an amazing panoply of animal life lives in each hectare of the bush and this includes possums, gliders and a big range of nocturnal animals.   In the aftermath of a fire we will have a similar situation to the refugee hordes assailing the shores of Europe and many western countries, and probably their arrival will create the same sort of resistance happening there.

The animals that live in areas adjacent to a fire see the arrival of survivors as an " invasion " and fight to protect their turf.  That introduces competition for the best nesting places and obviously the food supply needs to be shared.  Where food is in short supply the newcomers will be specially unwelcome and some may be forced in desperation to invade the space of nearby humans.

The animal rescue people hope that residents living near fire areas will be generous and make sure accessible water is readily available in a form wandering animals can access.  In many cases this can be the decisive factor between life and death.  When fire strikes the little creatures of the bush need a helping hand as much as the services that swing into action to help us humans  !