More than half of the 50,000 koalas living on Kangaroo Island have died in the Australian bushfire crisis. Now, rescuers are searching for injured survivors.Thousands of badly burned deceased koalas and wallabies were found littered across along the side of the road after the creatures had desperately attempted escape the blaze at Flinders Chase National Park.
Sam Mitchell, Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park co-owner, said his team is rescuing survivors as quickly as possible ahead of worsening conditions in the coming days.Meanwhile, a total fire ban has been declared across Kangaroo Island as fire Service crews race to quell areas still burning ahead of deteriorating conditions this week. Cooler weather and some rain across the fireground brought some relief with the focus of locals shifting towards damage assessment and recovery.But authorities imposed the fire ban for Monday as temperatures across SA were forecast to push into the mid to high 30s by Wednesday.
A bushfire advice remains in place for the western half of the island with the eastern edge of the fireground extending from the north to the south coast.