From September 2019, the current Australian bushfire season has decimated the country, burning an estimated 17 million hectares (170,000 square kilometers, 65,637 square miles), an area almost as large as the country of Syria, or Washington state. The fires have created States of Emergencies in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory, and have cleared the ecosystem of Kangaroo Island, just off the coast of South Australia. It’s estimated that over 2,700 homes have been destroyed and at least 33 people have died.

One of the biggest tragedies of the bushfires is the loss of over one billion native animals to the country, with some species being driven to extinction. The full extent of bushfire damage can't be investigated yet as the fires are still raging throughout the country, and likely continue into the Australian autumn months. Recently, we covered the GoFundMe set up by Funimation-led anime companies Wakanim, Madman and AnimeLab, and Manga UK that will raise money for Wildlife Victoria, and are happy to announce that Crunchyroll will be matching donations dollar to dollar to the fundraiser up to $75,000 AUD. Funimation is matching as well, meaning that all donations will have three times the impact in helping to save the distinctive ecosystem in Australia.

Bushfire in Canberra, the nation's capital, on January 28, 2020. Image by Nick-D, resized and cropped.

The fundraiser has currently raised over $25,000 AUD (US$16,782), with 100% of the donations going towards helping Australia’s wildlife survive. Australia is known for having some of the most unique flora and fauna in the world, thanks in part to the relative isolation of the country, and this fascinating ecosystem is currently under threat of extinction.

Click the button below to pledge your support or head over to the GoFundMe page to help Australia’s wildlife in its time of need.

For full details and terms regarding our efforts, please visit this article.

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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs the YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza and posts photos of his travels on Instagram. He worked at Madman Entertainment in 2015.