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ELIAS MARAT
\nThe Mind Unleashed<\/p>\n
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(TMU<\/a>)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Nearly half a billion animals are feared to have died as historic bushfires continue to devastate vast regions of Australia, including almost a third of koalas in their main habitat in New South Wales (NSW).<\/p>\n According to one\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from the the\u00a0Sunday Times,\u00a0<\/em>ecologists from the University of Sydney estimate that roughly 480 million mammals, birds, and reptiles have been killed either directly or indirectly by the horrific inferno that has been sweeping across the country since September.<\/p>\n The number includes about 8,000 koalas that were burnt to death along the mid-north coast of the state, which lies 240 miles north of Sydney.<\/p>\n On Friday, federal environment minister Sussan Ley\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0ABC<\/em>\u00a0radio that up to 30 percent of the koalas in the region had been killed, a number equivalent with the amount of their habitat that had been consumed by the fires. So far, about 12.35 million acres (five million hectares) has burned throughout the crisis. The official noted that she\u2019s been hard at work trying to establish corridors and plans to release hospitalized animals. She added:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll know more when the fires are calmed down and a proper assessment can be made.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While numerous scientists have sought to debunk earlier suggestions that\u00a0koalas have been rendered \u201cfunctionally extinct\u201d<\/a>\u00a0as sensationalistic and exaggerated, the species is still faced with a grave threat by the unprecedented fires stoked by strong winds and a brutal heatwave.<\/p>\n