Thread by @weatherindia

Officials in Australia fear thousands of koalas may be dead in an area of New South Wales ravaged in recent months by wildfires.

#AustralianFires #AustraliaFires #AustraliaBurns #koalas

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📸: AFP via Getty Images

“It may well be up to 30% of the population in that region because up to 30% of their habitat has been destroyed," Australia's environment minister, @sussanley, told @ABCaustralia last Friday. "We’ll know more when the fires are calmed down and a proper assessment can be made.”

Up to 28,000 koalas lived in the region before the fires, The Associated Press reported.

Wildlife managers and others who care for koalas have warned for months that koalas were dying in large numbers in the fires that have swept across vast swaths of the country, fueled by drought, wind and all-time high record temperatures.

The fires have so far burned more than 12 million acres of land and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, according to the AP. Nine people have died, including two firefighters.

Koalas have become an enduring symbol of the fire's destruction. Photos posted to social media of first responders and regular citizens rescuing the cuddly-looking marsupials have gone viral, and the Australian government has allocated $6 million to aid in their recovery.

“As we know the koala is one of our most iconic species and I get mail from all around the world from people absolutely moved and amazed by, number one, our wildlife volunteer response, but also by the habits of these curious creatures," @sussanley told @ABCaustralia.

Even before the fires, Australia's koala population was in peril. The Australian Koala Foundation said this year that there were less than 80,000 of the animals living in the wild, a number that might be too low to breed enough healthy offspring to produce another generation.