NPR

Opinion: We May Never Know The Toll Fires Have Taken On Australia's Wildlife

A billion animals in Australia may have been impacted or killed by the wildfires so far, and some may have been pushed to the edge of extinction.
An injured koala is treated at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Zoo on January 10 in Kangaroo Island, Australia.

The toll of the Australian bush fires is staggering. 27 people have died, more than 2,000 homes destroyed and 18 million acres have burned. A billion animals may have been killed.

Try to hold that horrifying number in

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