Australia Lists Koalas as Endangered
2022-02-15
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1Koalas were declared endangered Friday in eastern Australia.
2More koalas are dying from disease, lost habitat and other threats.
3Earlier, koalas had been considered a vulnerable species.
4Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley lowered their conservation status on the country's east coast in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
5The government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee recommended the change.
6Many koalas in Australia suffer from chlamydia.
7The disease causes blindness, infections and infertility.
8Last year, the Australian Koala Foundation said the country has lost about 30 percent of its koalas in the past three years.
9In 2020, a parliamentary investigation warned the species might become extinct before 2050 without immediate help.
10The number of koalas in Queensland has fallen by half since 2001 because of lack of water, fires and deforestation.
11Some are killed in attacks by dogs, or hit by cars.
12"Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly fast decline," said Stuart Blanch.
13He is a conservation scientist with the World Wildlife Fund-Australia.
14Blanch added that koalas will go extinct if new laws are not passed to protect forests.
15The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 100,000 Koalas left in the wild.
16There may be as few as 43,000. Summer forest fires in 2019 and 2020 killed at least 6,400 of the animals.
17Rescue workers tried hard to save them and treat their injuries.
18"There have been many pressures on the koala.
19The Black Summer fires, of course, was a tipping point.
20But we know the koala is vulnerable to climate change and to disease," Ley told reporters Friday.
21Ley said the government is working to protect the animal.
22She said vaccines are being given to koalas to prevent and treat chlamydia, and drones are being used to study them and rebuild their habitat.
23The government says that listing koalas as endangered will bring attention to them and help address threats.
24But conservation groups argue more has to be done to prevent their extinction.
25The Australian Koala Foundation has called for legislation to protect them and prevent land clearing and mining projects that are destroying their habitats.
26It says koalas are also in danger across Victoria and South Australia.
27Changing their status to endangered does not really help, said Deborah Tabart.
28She is the head of the foundation.
29"Behind all the photo opportunities and political rhetoric they (the federal government) continue to approve the destruction of koala habitat," she said.
30I'm Dan Novak.
1Koalas were declared endangered Friday in eastern Australia. More koalas are dying from disease, lost habitat and other threats. 2Earlier, koalas had been considered a vulnerable species. 3Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley lowered their conservation status on the country's east coast in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee recommended the change. 4Many koalas in Australia suffer from chlamydia. The disease causes blindness, infections and infertility. 5Last year, the Australian Koala Foundation said the country has lost about 30 percent of its koalas in the past three years. In 2020, a parliamentary investigation warned the species might become extinct before 2050 without immediate help. 6The number of koalas in Queensland has fallen by half since 2001 because of lack of water, fires and deforestation. Some are killed in attacks by dogs, or hit by cars. 7"Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly fast decline," said Stuart Blanch. He is a conservation scientist with the World Wildlife Fund-Australia. 8Blanch added that koalas will go extinct if new laws are not passed to protect forests. 9The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 100,000 Koalas left in the wild. There may be as few as 43,000. Summer forest fires in 2019 and 2020 killed at least 6,400 of the animals. Rescue workers tried hard to save them and treat their injuries. 10"There have been many pressures on the koala. The Black Summer fires, of course, was a tipping point. But we know the koala is vulnerable to climate change and to disease," Ley told reporters Friday. 11Ley said the government is working to protect the animal. She said vaccines are being given to koalas to prevent and treat chlamydia, and drones are being used to study them and rebuild their habitat. 12The government says that listing koalas as endangered will bring attention to them and help address threats. But conservation groups argue more has to be done to prevent their extinction. 13The Australian Koala Foundation has called for legislation to protect them and prevent land clearing and mining projects that are destroying their habitats. It says koalas are also in danger across Victoria and South Australia. 14Changing their status to endangered does not really help, said Deborah Tabart. She is the head of the foundation. 15"Behind all the photo opportunities and political rhetoric they (the federal government) continue to approve the destruction of koala habitat," she said. 16I'm Dan Novak. 17Dan Novak adapted this for VOA Learning English from reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters. 18_______________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20endangered - adj. used to describe a type of animal or plant that has become very rare and that could die out completely 21habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows 22vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally 23conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources 24decline - n. the process of becoming worse in condition or quality 25extinct - adj. no longer existing 26tipping point - n. the point at which a series of small changes become a larger, more important change. 27rhetoric - n. language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable