Dogs and scientists team up to save burnt, starving koalas
Romane Cristescu with a koala that survived the bushfires, but died afterwards. (Detection Dogs for Conservation/)Romane H. Cristescu is a Postdoc Research Fellow in Ecology, University of the Sunshine Coast. Celine Frere is a Senior lecturer, University of the Sunshine Coast. This story originally featured on The Conversation.The plight of koalas during the recent bushfire crisis made headlines here and abroad. But the emergency for our wildlife is not over. Koalas that survived the flames are now dying from starvation, dehydration, smoke inhalation, and other hazards.Over the past three weeks in one wildlife conservation property alone, our rescue team found koalas recently crushed under fire-damaged trees, and koalas with burnt paws after descending to the smoldering ground after the inferno had passed, hoping to change trees and find food. One of our most recent rescues was an orphaned, emaciated koala with all four paws burnt.Koalas are also at risk of...