'Devastating': more than 61,000 koalas among 3 billion animals affected by bushfire crisis

A new report says 143 million mammals were affected in the 2019-20 blazes, one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history'

More than 61,000 koalas and almost 143 million other native mammals were likely in the path of the Australian bushfires of late 2019 and early 2020, according to a major assessment of the ecological toll of the black summer" blazes.

The estimate from 10 researchers and scientists, contained in a report commissioned by environmental group WWF-Australia, recounts the devastating losses in habitats across the country.