Wildlife welfare emergency response following fire at Budj Bim National Park

The fire burnt 2,200 hectares, including a large area of manna gum canopy which is one of the main food sources for koalas in the park.

Koalas are particularly vulnerable to bushfire with limited ability to flee fire zones and can suffer burns from direct fire impact, burns to respiratory system due to super-heated air and smoke, and are vulnerable to burn-injuries on their feet when moving through firegrounds.

Since mid-March – as soon as it was safe - specialist staff have been working with experienced vets, local trained and authorised wildlife carers deployed through the Wildlife Emergency Support Network (WESN), and animal welfare experts to respond to wildlife impacted by the bushfire.

Crews have been undertaking ground and aerial health assessments of impacted wildlife and providing support for wildlife suffering from this significant event.

Aerial and ground assessments used established animal welfare guidelines to assess injuries and overall health of each individual animal.

However, due to the impacts of the fire and the resulting injuries and low likelihood of survival of many animals due to the sudden lack of food post-fire, many of the animals have required humane euthanasia.

In each case, this was the most humane action to relieve the pain and suffering of fire-impacted koalas and is supported by advice from wildlife experts and experienced vets.

The animal welfare response incident officially finished on Friday 9 May 2025, but the land manager will continue to monitor wildlife in the National Park.

The aerial operation identified and humanely euthanised fire impacted koalas in areas of the park that were not accessible by foot, and that would have otherwise suffered unnecessarily due to severe injuries from the bushfire.

The decision to employ this method was not taken lightly. DEECA made the decision to use this approach in consultation with leading animal welfare experts and experienced veterinarians. It was undertaken in accordance with strict guidelines after confirmation of the effectiveness and humaneness of an aerial assessment and euthanasia.

The only viable options for large parts of the park were to either leave the impacted koalas to deteriorate and die slowly and painfully or take steps to end their suffering by using aerial assessments and euthanasia.

Koalas were individually assessed by trained and accredited wildlife assessors against set guidelines which are focused primarily on the impact of fire to their physical state and behavior of the individual as being strong indicators for the state of welfare. These assessments were undertaken as close as operationally viable, often at less than 30m.

Further veterinary assessments have now confirmed that the overall state of welfare of koalas in the fire impacted areas of the park is significantly improved.

The updated assessment concluded that the emergency response to wildlife welfare including humane euthanasia have now alleviated suffering in those animals most severely impacted as a direct result of fire.

Since early March, 2,219 koalas have been assessed by both ground and aerial teams, with 48% identified as suffering severe injuries and burns from the bushfire and required humane euthanasia to relieve unnecessarily suffering.

To support healthy koalas and wildlife remaining in the park, an invasive species control program has been undertaken alongside the welfare response – this will help address issues of predation and competition from introduced species and help support recovery of the habitat and native species.

Several emergency response interventions were also trialed to support the response. Artificial water troughs were deployed and were monitored by remote cameras to determine which species were accessing them. The images showed that no native mammals accessed the water troughs but that pests, including foxes, were drawn to the area.

A supplementary feeding trial was also undertaken within the fire affected area. The site was selected based on koala activity and accessibility for installation and monitoring. Suitable browse was collected from off-site and brought to the park, however no koalas were recorded accessing the feed.

Through the BushBank program, the Victorian Government has provided up to $1 million to help create additional habitat on private land near the park to help improve food and habitat availability for koalas in the future.

Koala health check programs will also continue across the Budj Bim cultural landscape in the future, with information from this incident informing future decisions.

Parks Victoria has reopened sections of the National Park that were previously closed. For the latest updates on park closures, visit the change of conditions listing.

To find out more about how authorities manage wildlife during and after a bushfire, go to wildlife fire emergencies.

We appreciate that the details of this situation may be upsetting.