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Koalas were declared endangered Friday in eastern Australia. 周五，澳大利亚东部宣布考拉濒临灭绝。 More koalas are dying from disease, lost habitat and other threats. 越来越多的考拉死于疾病、栖息地丧失和其他威胁。 Earlier, koalas had been considered a vulnerable species. 早先，考拉被视为一种易危物种。 Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley lowered their conservation status on the country's east coast in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. 联邦环境部长苏珊·莱伊将考拉在昆士兰州东海岸，新南威尔士州和澳大利亚首都地区的保护等级变更为濒危。 The government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee recommended the change. 政府的濒危物种科学委员会也建议这样做。 Many koalas in Australia suffer from chlamydia. 澳大利亚的许多考拉都感染了衣原体。 The disease causes blindness, infections and infertility. 这种疾病会导致失明、传染和不育。 Last year, the Australian Koala Foundation said the country has lost about 30 percent of its koalas in the past three years. 去年，澳大利亚考拉基金会表示，在过去的三年里，澳大利亚已经失去了大约30%的考拉。 In 2020, a parliamentary investigation warned the species might become extinct before 2050 without immediate help. 2020年，一项议会调查警告称，如果不立即采取行动，该物种可能会在2050年之前灭绝。 The number of koalas in Queensland has fallen by half since 2001 because of lack of water, fires and deforestation. 由于缺水、火灾和森林砍伐，昆士兰考拉的数量自2001年以来已经减少了一半。 Some are killed in attacks by dogs, or hit by cars. 一些考拉死于犬类攻击或者车祸。 'Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. “考拉十年前还未被列入易危物种名单，如今却成为濒危物种。 That is a shockingly fast decline,' said Stuart Blanch. 这是一个令人震惊的转变，”斯图尔特·布兰奇说。 He is a conservation scientist with the World Wildlife Fund-Australia. 他是澳大利亚世界野生动物基金会的保护学家。 Blanch added that koalas will go extinct if new laws are not passed to protect forests. 布兰奇补充说，如果不通过新法律保护森林，考拉将会灭绝。 The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 100,000 Koalas left in the wild. 澳大利亚考拉基金会估计，野生考拉只剩下不到10万只。 There may be as few as 43,000. 甚至可能只有4.3万只。 Summer forest fires in 2019 and 2020 killed at least 6,400 of the animals. 2019年和2020年的夏季森林大火造成至少6400只考拉死亡。 Rescue workers tried hard to save them and treat their injuries. 救援人员努力抢救他们并治疗他们的伤势。 'There have been many pressures on the koala. “一直以来考拉都承受着很多压力。 The Black Summer fires, of course, was a tipping point. 当然，'黑色夏季’大火是一个转折点。 But we know the koala is vulnerable to climate change and to disease,' Ley told reporters Friday. 但是我们知道考拉很容易受到气候变化和疾病的影响，”莱伊周五告诉记者。 Ley said the government is working to protect the animal. 莱伊说，政府正在努力保护考拉。 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. 她表示，政府正在给考拉接种疫苗以预防和治疗衣原体，并使用无人机研究和重建它们的栖息地。 The government says that listing koalas as endangered will bring attention to them and help address threats. 政府表示，将考拉列为濒危物种将引起人们对它们的关注，并有助于解决威胁。 But conservation groups argue more has to be done to prevent their extinction. 但保护组织认为，要防止它们灭绝，还需要做更多的工作。 The Australian Koala Foundation has called for legislation to protect them and prevent land clearing and mining projects that are destroying their habitats. 澳大利亚考拉基金会呼吁立法保护它们，防止破坏它们栖息地的土地清理和采矿项目。 It says koalas are also in danger across Victoria and South Australia. 该组织表示，维多利亚和南澳大利亚的考拉也处于危险之中。 Changing their status to endangered does not really help, said Deborah Tabart. 黛博拉·塔巴特说，将它们的状态改为濒危并没有太大的帮助。 She is the head of the foundation. 她是基金会的负责人。 'Behind all the photo opportunities and political rhetoric they (the federal government) continue to approve the destruction of koala habitat,' she said. 她说：“在所有宣传和政治说辞背后，他们（联邦政府）依然在批准破坏考拉栖息地。” I'm Dan Novak. 丹·诺瓦克为您播报。 |
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