Watch to find out more about why koalas are ‘functionally extinct.
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Video credit: Wochit News
Koalas have gone ‘functionally extinct’ as their numbers have fallen to unprecedented levels in Australia, according to animal activists.
An estimated 80,000 of Koalas are left behind, indicating the species won’t be able to produce a new generation, the Australian Koala Foundation said.
Being ‘functionally extinct’ means an animal population that either doesn’t have enough breeding pairs left or has so small numbers that they can succumb to a genetic disease anytime.
In either case, the population ceases to have an impact on the environment.
According to the Australian Koala Foundation, they have inspected 128 Federal electorates which contained Koala environments since 2010.
Out of them, there are no Koalas left in 41 electorates.
Even though researchers acknowledge that Koalas’ patchwork habitat and their tendency to keep moving make them difficult to track, their numbers are still falling readily.
More than 8 million Koalas were transported to England after being killed for fur between 1890 and 1927.
In 2016, there were nearly 330,000 of them left in Australia as per an estimate which ranges from a minimum 144,000 to a maximum 600,000.
According to recent studies, the major factors behind Koalas ‘functional extinction’ are loss of habitat and climate change.
Climate change causes severe heatwaves which kill thousands of these animals from dehydration.
The species has been officially noted as vulnerable in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales since May 2012.
It means their population is at a huge risk of getting annihilated.
Although the species is not officially listed to be vulnerable in South Australia or Victoria, unofficial records show that the local populations have gone extinct.
Deborah Tabart, the chairperson of Koala Foundation, said: ‘I am calling on the new Prime Minister after the May election to enact the Koala Protection Act (KPA) which has been written and ready to go since 2016.
‘The plight of the Koala now falls on his shoulders.’
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