Wildlife Impacts

Q: What were the impacts from wildfires on populations of wild animals? Is there any indication of whether they were hard hit or generally survived?

A: It is difficult to respond to this until habitat assessments have been made. Experience from other fires shows that large wildlife can usually outrun a fire, burrowing animals are protected in burrows from low intensity fires and the fire skips provide refuge to all species. This mix of fire behaviour within the fire perimeter together with the unburned habitats adjacent to a burn, creates numerous opportunities for individuals to survive and begin to repopulate the area.

There have been some fundamental changes in available habitat for some species and the mix of wildlife will undoubtedly change.

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