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Dozens of koalas have been found dead, starving and seriously injured at a tree-logging site in Australia.
The marsupials were discovered at a blue gum plantation in the state of Victoria, which has only a handful of trees left after they were harvested in December.
About 100 koalas are believed to have been killed by bulldozers, while others were injured or left to starve at the private site near Cape Bridgewater, according to animal protection group Animals Australia.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), which is investigating the incident, said about 30 koalas were initially removed from the land on Friday after being checked over by wildlife carers.
The remaining animals were given food and water to sustain them before 50 more were rescued on Sunday.
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Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide
AAP Image/Reuters
2/25
Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales
Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP
3/25
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area
Reuters
4/25
Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires
Jackie Maisey/AP
5/25
Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo
EPA
6/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty Images
7/25
Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum
Reuters
8/25
Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney
EPA
9/25
A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide
Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters
10/25
An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head
EPA
11/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty
12/25
A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services
13/25
A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
AFP via Getty
14/25
Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health
EPA
15/25
A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia
Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters
16/25
WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay
EPA
17/25
Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne
EPA
18/25
Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland
Kim Simeon via Reuters
19/25
An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES
EPA
20/25
A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP
21/25
WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head
EPA
22/25
A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton
Reuters
23/25
Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires
Simone Watts via Reuters
24/25
A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty
25/25
A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley
AFP via Getty Images
1/25
Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide
AAP Image/Reuters
2/25
Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales
Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP
3/25
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area
Reuters
4/25
Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires
Jackie Maisey/AP
5/25
Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo
EPA
6/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty Images
7/25
Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum
Reuters
8/25
Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney
EPA
9/25
A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide
Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters
10/25
An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head
EPA
11/25
Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island
AFP via Getty
12/25
A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services
13/25
A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
AFP via Getty
14/25
Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health
EPA
15/25
A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia
Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters
16/25
WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay
EPA
17/25
Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne
EPA
18/25
Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland
Kim Simeon via Reuters
19/25
An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES
EPA
20/25
A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP
21/25
WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head
EPA
22/25
A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton
Reuters
23/25
Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires
Simone Watts via Reuters
24/25
A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney
Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty
25/25
A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley
AFP via Getty Images
A number of koalas unfortunately had to be put down at the site because of injuries or starvation, the department said.
It warned the Conservation Regulator would “act swiftly against those responsible” if the cause of the incident is found to be “deliberate human action”.
The deaths come after tens of thousands of koalas were killed in bushfires across the country.
Local resident Helen Oakley was first to raise the alarm on Wednesday after spotting “too many koalas” in just “one row of trees” at the site.
In a tearful video posted to Facebook, Ms Oakley claimed the logging company had “bulldozed 140 acres down and just killed all of our koalas”.
She added: “There’s koalas lying there dead. Mothers killed and their little babies. Australia should be ashamed of this.”
Friends of the Earth Australia claimed “hundreds of koalas” may have been killed or injured during logging activities in the past week.
It added: “People apparently witnessed the bulldozing of many dead koalas into slash piles.”
Animals Australia said there appeared to have been “various breaches of legislation, including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act”, which the group would help the authorities to pursue.
“By law, the companies that own these plantations must provide koala ‘spotters’ to identify koalas in trees before logging commences, so that animals can be safely removed and relocated,” it said.
“There is also a legal responsibility to ensure the welfare of koalas after logging has ceased.”
The Australian Forest Products Association said it would be launching its own investigation.
Chief executive Ross Hampton said: “It is unclear as yet who bulldozed the trees with the koalas apparently still in them, but it is absolutely certain that this was not a plantation or a forestry company.
“We support all those calling for the full force of the law to be applied to the perpetrator.”