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Fears for koalas after bushfire
04/12/2006 15:20 - (SA)
Sydney - A forest fire that closed more than 100km of a major Australian highway sparked fears on Monday that one of the nation's most important koala colonies had been decimated.
The fire in the Pilliga Nature Reserve, 350km north of Sydney, had nature lovers wringing their hands about the fate of one of the nation's last remaining enclaves of healthy koalas.
Mark Williams, a spokesperson for Sydney's Taronga Zoo, said that since Saturday a rescue team had been camped in Coonabarabran, in northern New South Wales, waiting for a safe opportunity to go into the blackened area.
"We are hoping to pick up animals on the fringe of the fire line," Williams told Australia's AAP news agency.
"But, not surprisingly, there haven't been many sightings. Sadly, the intense heat of bushfires claims animals like koalas and reptiles."
He said the Pilliga was a sanctuary for thousands of koalas. "The hope is that some will have been able to break across firebreaks," Williams added.
Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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