Much of Australia is still ablaze in an unprecedented wildfire season that has already charred an area the size of Kentucky.
Scientists fear that some of Australia's unique and colorful endangered species may not recover.
Now they are looking for surviving representatives of rare species including the kangaroo-like brush-tailed rock wallabies, and helping threatened creatures get enough food and water in recently scorched forests.
Koalas are not now in imminent danger of extinction, but scientists worry that the iconic marsupial's habitat has been greatly reduced by wildfires.
More than one billion animals have been killed in the Australian bushfires, according to one estimate.
University of Sydney professor Christopher Dickman told NPR that "there's nothing quite to compare with the devastation that's going on over such a large area so quickly."
Scientists say climate change is making massive wildfires more common.
