When tropical cyclone Alfred battered Australia's east coast in March, it didn't just knock out power for hundreds of thousands of people — it also left wildlife injured, displaced, and struggling to survive.
Across Queensland, dedicated rescuers rushed to help, including veterinary nurse Hannah Gallagher, who works with Wildlife Rescue Queensland.
Gallagher cares for many different animals at her home outside Brisbane, from koalas to cassowaries. But since the storm, her focus has been on rehabilitating storm-tossed birds — many of which aren't normally seen on land.
"It's a bit like The Wizard of Oz, caught up in a cyclone and dumped somewhere completely weird and out of your routine," she told The World.
Gallagher's backyard triage area has become a makeshift recovery center, with six birds recovering in mesh carriers on the day she spoke with The World.
At one point, locals had brought 38 birds to her doorstep — sadly, only six survived. Many were seabirds so exhausted that they'd developed pressure sores on their feet since they're not used to standing for such long periods.
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, south of Brisbane, treated around 500 injured animals affected by the storm. Senior veterinarian Michael Pyne said the hardest-hit were tree-dwellers like koalas and possums.
Even the hospital itself had to evacuate for the first time ever because of the storm. One koala, Laura Leaf, spent her recovery period after surgery at a nurse's home.
"Every koala's important, and to lose any of them is heartbreaking," Pyne said.
Scientists like April Reside, a lecturer at the University of Queensland, warn that these storms are part of a larger pattern. Rising global temperatures and extreme weather like more frequent wildfires — all of which have been linked to human-induced climate change — are threatening already-vulnerable species, especially those in rainforests. Some birds are shifting their ranges south; others may not be able to adapt.
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Definitely 👍 Not only do these weather events affect animals, but their increased severity and frequency is creating new challenges for people. As entire ecosystems are threatened, it ultimately disrupts the food chain and throws nature off balance, impacting everything from pollinators to the crops we depend on.
But there is hope. Conservationists are using advanced mapping tools and historical data to identify potential safe havens where species might have the best chance of survival as the climate changes.
Reside explained: "If we can find the areas which are suitable for species in the future, and we can make sure those areas are secured for the biodiversity that needs them, that is probably one of the best things we can do."
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