Up to 100 threatened species have been pushed closer to extinction because of Australia's bushfire crisis

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A group of researchers fear up to 100 threatened species have been pushed closer to extinction because of Australia's bushfire crisis.

It's been estimated that about 1.25 billion animals have perished this fire season.

Crews continue to battle the blazes that have killed 26 people, destroyed thousands of homes and other structures, and burnt more than eight million hectares of land.

'Season in hell'

Six professors from universities across the country say the crisis has "significantly increased the extinction risk for many threatened species".

"We estimate most of the range and population of between 20 and 100 threatened species will have been burnt," they published on The Conversation.

"The continued existence of such species was already tenuous.

"Their chances of survival are now much lower again."

The professors say most animals would have been killed by the fires or, in the aftermath, died from a lack of food and shelter.

The race is also on to locate the endangered species as "feral cats and foxes hunt more effectively in burnt landscapes and will inexorably pick off wildlife that may have survived the fire".

The ongoing fire risk has prohibited the passage of conservationists to try to recover the species in question.

The full extent of environmental damage is not likely to be known while fires continue to burn.

Feared extinct

A Kangaroo Island conservation program has serious concerns for a native endangered marsupial after bushfires ravaged more than one-third of the South Australian island.

The Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife says all known monitoring sites of the island's native dunnart have been destroyed.

Found only within remnant bushland on the island, it's believed the rare species may now be on the brink of extinction, with any remaining survivors threatened by feral predators or the ongoing fire risk.

The rescue team has set up a GoFundMe page to assist in locating "remnant patches of unburnt vegetation and survey for the species through camera trapping".

More than $23,000 has been raised in three days.

Meanwhile, a fundraiser for the island's koala rescue organisation tipped $1 million on Thursday.