The WWF reported that around 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds, and 51 million frogs were affected by the devastating bushfires in Australia. Initially, the WWF estimated the number of affected animals at 1.25 billion while the fires were still burning. These fires destroyed over 11 million hectares of land in the Australian southeast, which is equivalent to about half the size of the United Kingdom. WWF-Australia's CEO Dermot O'Gorman described this as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history. The project leader, Lily Van Eeden from the University of Sydney, stated that this research is the first of its kind to analyze the impact of bushfires on animals across an entire continent, and hopes that other countries can use this research to better understand the effects of bushfires globally. The overall number of animals affected by the destruction of their habitats has increased, leading to a lack of food and shelter or the need to move to already occupied habitats. Researchers attribute the rise in animal casualties to their assessment of the total affected area, rather than just focusing on the most affected states. Australia faced an exceptionally dry bush due to years of drought, resulting in one of its worst bushfire seasons from September 2019 to March 2020, which led to 34 human deaths and the loss of nearly 3,000 homes.