Australian Ecologist Says To Expect 'Local Extinctions' Of Wildlife Due To Fires

04:34

January 06, 2020

A koala named Paul recovers from his burns in the ICU on November 29, 2019 in Port Macquarie, Australia. Volunteers from the Koala Hospital have been working alongside National Parks and Wildlife Service crews searching for koalas following weeks of devastating fires across New South Wales and Queensland. (Nathan Edwards/Getty Images)

It's estimated that nearly half a billion animals have been killed in the fires in Australia since September. But the researcher who came up with that figure says that in reality, the situation could turn much worse as fires there continue to burn.

Here & Now's Tonya Mosley speaks with Chris Dickman, an ecologist at the University of Sydney.

This segment aired on January 6, 2020.