Dylan Davis

Everyone knows that there are endangered animals, but did you know that there are some species that are critically endangered that  could be extinct within the next couple of years? Did you also know that Australia is an extremely rare country with a huge number of creatures such as the Platypus and the Emu that exist nowhere else in the entire world. This is why we have to look after them and stop these animals from becoming extinct. Three critically endangered species in Australia are Koalas, the Long-Footed Potoroo and the Tasmanian Devil.

Did you know that Koalas are the most endangered Australian species because of habitat destruction, domestic dog attacks, bushfires and road accidents? Author Jenny Tsui wrote in her article “bushfires in Australia also destroy a large area of forests every year. In 2019, the bushfires were so serious that they burned more than 185,000 square kilometers, an area that is almost twice the size of Iceland.” In that fire more than 60,000 Koalas were slaughtered. There is one way we could potentially help save the koalas is by planting more native trees for them.

The Long-Footed Potoroo is one of the most endangered species because of people burning down their habitats, they’re hunted down by other predatory species and climate change. These are the different types of species that hunt the long-footed potoroo, Dingoes, Wild dogs and foxes and thanks to them there are now only 75,000 long-footed potoroo’s left. A pulse baiting program throughout the habitat of the long-footed potoroo in the region will increase the area previously baited.

Listed as endangered, The Tasmanian Devil is threatened with extinction because of a face tumor that emerged in 1996 and still doesn’t have a cure. Once the highly infectious cancerous tumors appear around the mouth, face and neck, the Devils generally die within three to six months. They’re also endangered due to road kill accidents now there are only 25,000 devils left. We can drive slower to help Tasmanian devils a little bit.

I have clearly shown you that Australia has a vast number of animals that are in imminent danger of becoming extinct. Our cute, cuddly koalas, the unique long-footed potoroo and the fierce, but environmentally important tasmanian devil are all examples of animals that we need to save now!  So what you need to do is to support the establishment of reserves, encourage the presentation of their habitat and talk to other people to spread the important message of saving our animals.