Havana, January 7 (RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez conveyed his condolences to the people and government of Australia where forest fires have killed more than 20 people and caused severe damage to wildlife and infrastructure.

"Heartfelt condolences to the people and government of for the loss of human lives, wildlife and material damages caused by forest fires in that country, which I make extensive to the victims and their relatives,"  he wrote on Twitter.

The megafires affecting the Australian continent are caused by an extreme heatwave, and there are reports of 23 people killed and some 1,50 homes destroyed.

Millions of animals are potentially dead, according to ecologists at the University of Sydney. That figure includes birds, reptiles, and mammals, except bats. 

The less mobile species and the smaller ones that depend on the forest itself are the ones that are really in the line of fire and are directly affected because the larger animals such as kangaroos or emus and many birds have the capacity to move away from the fire when it approaches.