Australia bushfire toll: Over one billion animals dead by ‘conservative’ estimate

Months of devastating wildfires have taken their toll on Australia’s biodiversity like never before. While initial estimates put the animal death toll at 480 million, these were only for the New South Walves (SW) region and only counted some species.

Now, University of Sydney ecologist Chris Dickman has told The Huffington Post that the death toll easily crosses one billion for the whole country. Talking to the news website on late Monday evening, Dickman said that “The original figure―the 480 million―was based on mammals, birds and reptiles for which we do have densities, and that figure now is a little bit out of date. It’s over 800 million given the extent of the fires now―in New South Wales alone.”

He then went on to say that this number did not include animals such as bats, frogs and invertebrates. Including these would easily put the toll at over one billion, Dickman said, calling that a conservative figure.

A sobering-view of the scale of ecological destruction came via an ABC cameraman, who shared a video of a drive along an Australian road in an area ravaged by the fire, where dead bodies of various animals littered both sides of the road. In many ways, it resembled the Highway of Death that US forces left behind in Iraq during the first Gulf War, except here the casualties were animal, not human.

The human toll of the tragic wildfires has been 25, so far.

The fires have been raging across Australia since September 2019, burning well over 84,000 square kilometres. Bush fires, also known as wildfires, spread rapidly in dry climates. A severe drought that struck the east Australian region added to the problem.

Many have blamed climate change for the deadly fires. Tim Flannery, Chief Councillor of the Climate Council Australia told CNN that he was absolutely certain that climate change had caused it, highlighting how his council had issued 12 reports since the 1990s highlighting the dangers of the escalating fire risk in Australia. Flannery said that such extreme heat conditions normally happen once every 350 years; with global warming, that is now once every eight years.

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg shared the news of the one billion death toll figure on Tuesday. 

Among those trying to help are the family members of Steve Irwin, the much-loved conservationist and TV personality who died in 2006. The Irwin family has rescued and treated hundreds of animals since the fires began. Steve's wife, Bindi, posted on Monday saying she was heartbroken over the people and wildlife who had lost so much to the bushfires, adding that their Wildlife Hospital was busy treating many animals.