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koalas aren’t extinct, but their future is in danger, experts say

claims that koalas were “functionally extinct” spread widely online as fires raged in australia. but some scientists warned of the dangers of exaggeration.
a koala was given water on thursday after being rescued from a fire in jacky bulbin flat in new south wales, australia.
a koala was given water on thursday after being rescued from a fire in jacky bulbin flat in new south wales, australia
there is no doubt that the fires tearing across eastern australia have been hurting koalas.
with large areas of their crucial habitat ravaged, it is unclear what the future holds for a species that was already under threat before this round of bush fires. some koalas have been rescued — singed and dehydrated — from the wild. and with blazes still burning, it is hard to know how many have been killed.
but in describing the plight of these animals, is it possible to go too far?
the phrase “functionally extinct” made the rounds in news articles and on social media over the weekend. the term refers to a species that no longer plays a role in an ecosystem or that is on its way to extinction, possibly irremovably.
that provoked a visceral reaction from readers who wondered if the fuzzy marsupials, a national symbol of australia, will be gone forever.
in fact, koalas are not extinct. and some scientists warned that exaggeration can hurt, rather than , conservation efforts.
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“what is particularly frustrating about the term ‘functional extinction’ is it indicates a population that is basically past the point of no return, so it means that nothing really can be done,” said jacquelyn gill, an associate professor at the university of maine’s climate change institute and school of biology and ecology.
“that might seem like scientists quibbling over terms or trying to argue for nerdy levels of precision, but a strong statement like that should mean something,” she said.
are koalas going extinct soon?
koalas could go extinct. the international union for conservation of nature’s red list, the authority on the conservation status of the world’s species, says the koala population is declining and vulnerable — but not endangered.
there could be hundreds of thousands of koalas, but nailing down a number has proved impossible. estimates range wildly, and every region is different. in some places, scientists say, koalas’ numbers have declined by up to 80 percent.
imagea dehydrated and injured koala received treatment at the port macquarie koala hospital this month after it was rescued from a bush fire on australia’s east coast.
a dehydrated and injured koala received treatment at the port macquarie koala hospital this month after it was rescued from a bush fire on australia’s east coast. khan/agence france-presse — getty images
noah greenwald, the endangered species director at the center for biological diversity, said there might have been around 300,000 koalas in australia in 2016. but things may have changed since then — especially given the recent fires.
“they’re in a lot of trouble, and they need our care and our if they’re going to survive,” he said.
koalas evolved to exist alongside wildfires, but the animals are facing new threats from human development, which has dislocated local populations and impaired their ability to survive fires, as well as climate change.
last week, a dramatic video of a woman trying to rescue a koala from a burning landscape elicited emotional responses from thousands of people who watched the footage on social media.
where did that phrase come from?
on social media, many people who shared an article that used the term “functionally extinct” to describe koalas pointed to an article that appeared in forbes on saturday. that article, written by a senior contributor to the publication, was about the effects of the recent fires, but it appeared to cite a statement that was issued in may.
the foundation, a nonprofit conservation organization based in brisbane, said in a statement on may 10 that it believed koalas “may be functionally extinct in the entire landscape of australia.” the statement also said that the organization believed there were no more than 80,000 koalas left in the country.
the organization doubled down on its use of the phrase in a different statement last month. but while the bush fires raged this month, ms. tabart said in another statement that “it is difficult for the australian koala foundation to make any meaningful comments regarding the current australian bush fires until the fires are over and people on the ground have evaluated the situation.”