【A图片 09.06.06】每日电讯报：澳大利亚火灾中受伤的野生动物仍在恢复

Iam_zhcn

Animal victims of Australia's fires still recovering
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/5462143/Animal-victims-of-Australias-fires-still-recovering.html

By David Wroe in Melbourne Published: 5:16PM BST 06 Jun 2009

Hundreds of victims of the worst bushfires in Australian history are still being treated for their injuries - by volunteer vets across the state of Victoria.


Only a handful of koalas that survived around Marysville - one of the worst hit areas - from an estimated population of 5,000 bears Photo: AP

Koalas, wombats and baby kangaroos are among the animals that have been rescued from the charred landscape where 173 people died in fires that swept through the state earlier this year.

George, an infant koala, was found crawling along a scorched road on burnt paws, a few days after the bushfires tore through the forest around Marysville. Then five months old, George was orphaned and helpless.

The injured marsupial was one of only a handful of koalas that survived around Marysville - one of the worst hit areas - from an estimated population of 5,000 bears.

As the burns have healed, other dangers have arisen. Now George is showing early signs of eye cataracts, caused by the blistering heat. If its eyesight worsens, the koala will never be able to return to the wild.

Now the extent of the damage to Australia's wildlife is becoming clear. The fires that swept across 1.1 million acres of land and left 7000 Australians homeless caused severe damage to flora and fauna.

"We have no way to measure how many animals died, but it's in millions," said John Rowden, president of Wildlife Victoria, a group that helps the state government manage wild animals. "Some species have a remarkable ability to bounce back. Others will take decades, if they recover at all."

myzhaohong

好可爱的树袋熊啊，要是能养一两只当宠物，多好啊。。。