In eastern Australia, koalas can become extinct within 30 years

AGI – Koalas could become extinct in eastern Australia by 2050 due to the continued destruction of their habitats and the increasingly frequent natural disasters affecting the region. This is what emerged from an official report calling for greater environmental protection. According to studies by ecologist Oisin Sweeney, there will be Between 15,000 and 20,000 wild koalas are in the eastern state of New South WalesWho suffered last summer Devastating fires, Although the number of animals is difficult to determine. “Even before the fires broke out, rangers told us that the koalas that were being helped were dehydrated and malnourished due to drought, heat waves and lack of water,” said Kate Ferman, chair of the regional Senate committee that examined the report.

In the summer fires in South Australia it can be At least 5,000 koalas have died, Already suffering from “the constant destruction of their habitats in favor of agriculture, development, mining or aquaculture that has severely affected most koalas for several decades”.

Even before the wildfires broke out, koalas were in trouble due to periods Severe drought and destruction of their habitats Because of human development. Add to these threats the impact of climate change, accidents when crossing roads, attacks of other wild and domestic animals, and chlamydia, which causes injury to the genitals and eyes, causes infertility and blindness, and consumes them slowly until death. .

After the report, which made 42 recommendations, was released, the Australian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) called for immediate government action to change the tree reclamation and logging laws in New South Wales. ”It was able to prevent the koala’s habitat nucleus from being destroyed on land on private land or Cut them in the coastal state forests.Without trees, there are no koalas, ”said Stuart Blanche, a WWF Australia spokesperson.

A report from the WWF in 2018 revealed that since the original vegetation law was lifted in August 2017, the rate of felling has tripled to a total of 8,194 hectares in the northern Australian state.