- Farmers have told harrowing stories of failing crops, severe water shortages and being unable to feed livestock.
- From abandoned baby kangaroos to wallabies being blinded by the sun and koalas having to go walkabout to look for eucalyptus leaves, Australia’s exotic wild animals are struggling to adapt to a crippling drought.
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- The “big dry”, lasting for several years in some areas,
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- It’s so dry that animals are being forced to migrate — a group of emus recently swarmed the town of Broken Hill, running down the street and gate crashing football matches in search of water and food,
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- All the signs are there. The UNESCO heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, a 2,300-kilometer stretch rich in biodiverse marine life, is under threat, having lost more than half its coral in two mass bleaching events in 2016 and 2017.
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- is turning vast swathes of lush green land across the continent’s eastern interior brown.
- No time to adapt
- “There are large numbers of kangaroos dying all over the country,” ecologist Richard Kingsford from the Universi- ty of New South Wales said, warning that change was oc-
- curring “at such a fast rate for so many animals and plants that they can’t adapt in that amount of time”.
- The government is ramp- ing up aid to support drought-stricken farmers as they struggle to make ends meet and feed their stock.
- But conservationists warn that the natural environ- ment, particularly endan
- While droughts are not uncommon in Australia .
- additional factors such as human activity, introduced animals and dwindling water sources are adding to the stress on populations.
- The malnourished babies are abandoned by mothers who aren’t able to feed them, while others are orphaned young after their parents were struck by vehicles as they roam closer to towns in search of food and water.
- “We’re finding a lot more wallabies with blindness be- cause they’re actually com- ing out into the open pad- docks searching for food, and their eyes are unable to cope with full sunlight,” Ms. Walker, of NSW rescue group WIRES, said.
- Koalas are travelling lon- ger distances as the eucalyp- tus trees they feed on dry up,
- exposing them to dog attacks and car accidents.
- With scientists warning that climate change is exacer- bating droughts and increas- ing the intensity and fre- quency of heatwaves, Australians are having to adapt to the extended dry periods and learning to live with more — and closer — en- counters with animals.
- GOVERNMENT energy policy was aimed at bringing the country in line with its commitment to cut carbon emissions by 26% by 2030, from 2005 levels, as Australia pledged in the Paris climate change agreement.
- Australians support the agreement and climate change action more broadly .
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