Wildfire smoke causes respiratory harm, sensory disorientation, and physiological stress in wildlife across vast areas, often beyond the fire perimeter where direct combustion harm occurs.
Wildfire smoke welfare impacts on wildlife are an underappreciated consequence of increasing fire frequency and intensity driven by climate change. While the immediate fire front causes acute mortality and injury, smoke affects a much larger area of wildlife with sub-lethal but genuine welfare harm. Respiratory inflammation reduces immune function, behavioural disorientation increases predation risk, and chronic exposure during breeding reduces reproductive success at population level. Wildlife rehabilitation services in fire-prone regions need surge capacity for smoke-affected animals, and climate mitigation remains the most effective long-term intervention.