NEW SOUTH WALES — As Australia continues to struggle with bushfires, brush-tailed rock-wallabies are getting a helping hand via air.
According to Global News, the New South Wales government is airdropping thousands of kilograms of carrots and sweet potatoes to starving animals in a mission called "Operation Wallaby."
In a statement released on Sunday by NSW environment minister Matt Kean, "initial fire assessments indicate the habitat of several important brush-tailed rock-wallaby populations was burnt in the recent bushfires. The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat."
He continued, "the wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance."
Global News reports that the aerial food deliveries are expected to help endangered species like wallabies amid larger wildlife recovery efforts across the country in the aftermath of bushfires.
According to a government media release, nearly 2,000 kilograms of veggies were dropped to 11 different rock-wallaby colonies.
The drops will continue, and will be accompanied by feral predator control as the little critters recover.
