Australia wildfires: More than half a billion animals and plants killed as glaciers turn black

The wildfire crisis ravaging Australia has wreaked environmental havoc since it began in September, wiping out almost 500 million animals and turning glaciers in New Zealand black. Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate around 480 million animals have been killed in the wildfires, including 8,000 koalas. Officials fear that 30 per cent of the koala colony in New South Wales had been destroyed as 10 million acres of land burned to the ground in the state. Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines Download now Nature Conservation Council ecologist Mark Graham told parliament: “[Koalas] really have no capacity to move fast enough to get away...