Animals are the biggest victims of fires in Australia

Hundreds of millions of animals have died, starved or lost their habitat due to the fires that have been raging across eastern and southern Australia for weeks.

Footage of thirsty and exhausted koalas being given water by cyclists or motorists has sparked enormous public interest in the effects of wildfires on animals. So far, more than seven million hectares of land have burned in Australia, which is the area of ​​the Czech Republic.

"It's the worst for the ones you see sitting on the ground completely frozen," said John Grant, a spokesman for Wild Animal Care and Rescue (WIRES).

More than 800 million domestic animals have been killed or otherwise affected by the fires in NSW, the worst-hit state, according to University of Sydney ecology professor Chris Dickman. In the state of Victoria, where more than a million hectares of land were burned, "up to 500 million animals, including endangered species, are estimated to have died in the fires," said Sue Ashton, director of Port Makare's only koala hospital.

"We see animals suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and burns. In our area alone, hundreds of koalas have died. In one small area that we have been studying for a long time, 350 koalas died, or two-thirds of the total population," said Ashton.

WIRES volunteers have taken in thousands of birds that often fall to the ground due to the hot air, and kangaroos, koalas and possums have also been cared for.

More than 150 hectares of land have already burned on Kangaroo Island in southern Australia, and authorities estimate that half of the animals there have died or will die, including koalas.

They will kill 10 thousand camels because they drink too much water

The killing of about 10.000 wild camels in Australia will begin tomorrow because they consume excessive amounts of water and cause significant damage in populated areas affected by fires and drought, Anadolu Agency reports. It is expected to take five days.

Local official Marita Baker told "The Australian" about the difficult living conditions.

"We don't feel good, because the camels come, cross the fences and move around the houses. "They even try to drink the water from the coolers," Baker said.

South Australia's Department of Environment and Water (DEW) estimates that around ten thousand wild camels in the area rushed towards water resources, including fountains and cisterns. As they added, thousands of camels have damaged the road infrastructure and pose a danger to settlements and the population.

It was also said that some camels died of thirst or ran over each other while trying to get to water.

There are thought to be more than 1,2 million wild camels in Australia.