The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Australia's koalas are not lost yet

2019-11-25T18:56:03.953Z


The bush fires in Australia have brought the koalas to the verge of extinction - this message is currently going around the world. In fact, the population estimates vary widely.



Koalas are next to the kangaroos the most famous landmarks of Australia's wildlife. With their brown-gray puffy coat and the button eyes they are considered the epitome of cuteness. Respectfully, a message was received that was last distributed worldwide: According to the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF), the devastating bush fires on the continent have brought the small creatures to the brink of extinction.

About a thousand animals were the flames, which raged mainly in the states of Queensland and New South Wales in the east of the country, fell victim. In addition, the fires would have destroyed about 80 percent of koala habitats. Although the environmental organization assumes that some 80,000 animals have lived off the fires on the continent, according to the AKF, a report states that the animals are now "functionally extinct". Also numerous German media took up the topic.

Experts talk about functional extinction when a population is decimated so that it is virtually non-existent in its ecosystem and is no longer viable in the long term. For example, to ensure reproduction, a group needs a sufficiently large variance of genes. For example, if this gene pool is lacking because the group is too small, it can lead to inbreeding with negative consequences for the animals' health.

more on the subject

Fire crisis in AustraliaBoost fires will probably blaze for months

Basically, the condition of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) is poorly ordered. The populations of the mammals have been declining for years, though not in all regions of Australia to the same extent. Before the beginning of European colonization of the continent in 1788, more than ten million animals are said to have lived in Australia. But according to studies, the number in the state of New South Wales alone has dropped by a quarter over the past 20 years. This was announced by the Australian government last year.

The problem is: how many of the inconspicuous animals currently live in Australia, is not known. "There are no exact numbers on the population of koalas in the wild and the animals are very hard to count," says veterinarian Rachael Tarlinton of the University of Nottingham. Koalas move in the treetops on a large territory and can be found in both rural and urban areas.

photo gallery


13 pictures

Bush tour in Australia: In the footsteps of the koalas

Pessimistic estimates assume less than 100,000 animals. In contrast, a study from the journal "Diversity and Distributions" came to 329,000 animals. Again, the researchers emphasized that in real terms, it could be a lot less, but also a lot more (up to 600,000 copies).

Climate change is causing problems for koalas

The reasons for the decline are many. Many koalas are run over on rural roads. In addition, the decline of the forests leads to a loss of habitat for the animals, who spend most of their lives on trees and feed almost exclusively on leaves, bark and fruits of less eucalyptus species. Also, diseases that lead to infertility, the stocks have decimated.

Dogs, foxes or wild cats hunt for them. Droughts and heat waves as a result of global warming also cause problems for the animals. In some regions of Queensland and New South Wales, the stocks had therefore fallen by up to 80 percent, a study had revealed. Because of the known problems, the animals on the Red List of Endangered Species issued by ICUN, the World Conservation Union, are classified as "vulnerable".

The warnings of the environmentalists are not completely unjustified. "The koalas are undoubtedly threatened, but the Australian Koala Foundation's assessment of the consequences of the forest fires is over the top," says Tarlinton. So they are not nearly extinct. In 2015, there was even a plague in the state of Victoria.

more on the subject

Unusual relief action Kot of conspecifics saves starving koalas

The AKF lobby group, which had made similar claims as early as May, would rather base its estimates on the bottom of the numbers, Tarlinton said.

However, the researcher emphasizes that something has to change in the future to protect the animals. "If things continue this way, the koalas could be seriously endangered in ten to 20 years," she says.

To prevent this from happening, the Australian Government is taking measures to protect the animals. In the past year, for example, a program was adopted, in which the equivalent of more than 28 million euros will be spent on coalition protection. For example, the money will be used to set up protected areas and roadside barriers to prevent the animals from running on the road and being run over.

But the most important thing is to protect the habitat of the animals. All you need is more forest with the eucalyptus trees that are so popular with koalas.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2019-11-25

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.