Koalas, a beloved icon of Australia, may be "functionally extinct" in their native land. Koalas are not in danger of total extinction throughout Australia, but there are no more than 80,000 koalas left in the country — which may not be a big enough population to ensure their long-term survival.

可爱的考拉作为澳大利亚的“国宝”之一，目前面临着“功能性灭绝”的窘境。尽管从总数上看，全澳洲的考拉数量还不足以让人担忧，但是对于种群的长期繁衍来说，这仅仅8万只的数量，仍然显得太少了。

The term "functionally extinct" could describe a species that "has declined to a point where it can no longer play the role it once did in an ecosystem". Estimates differ of just how many koalas remain in the wild, but experts agree koala populations are falling due to habitat loss and global warming.

“功能性灭绝”这一说法指的是某一物种因其生存环境被破坏，数量变得非常稀少，以致在自然状态下基本丧失了维持繁殖的能力。目前科学家还不能掌握栖息在自然环境中的考拉数量，但普遍共识是，由于栖息地环境恶化和全球变暖的影响，考拉的数量正在不断减少。

For example, koala populations in parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, have declined by as much as 80%, due to climate extremes like severe droughts and heat waves. Other threats to the species include disease and deforestation.

例如，澳大利亚昆士兰州和新南威尔士州的部分地区的监测数据显示，考拉的数量已经锐减了8成，其背后的原因便是极端的气候条件，如持续性的干旱和热浪。其他对考拉生存构成威胁的因素还包括疾病和森林砍伐导致的栖息地破坏。

Just 230 years ago, many millions of koalas roamed the great forests and bushland of eastern Australia. It is likely that koalas have already disappeared from large areas of their former range in western NSW and Queensland, suggesting habitat conditions in these areas are now inadequate to support koala populations. The pace of such local extinctions is growing, with climate change hastening declines.

而就在230年前，东澳大利亚地区茂密森林和原始林带中曾经栖息着数以百万计的考拉。目前来看，考拉已经从新南威尔士州西部和昆士兰州的大片区域中完全消失，意味着这些地区已经不适合考拉繁衍后代。与此同时，这样的区域性灭绝也在不断加剧，气候变化更是加速这一进程的罪魁祸首。

Once a local population falls so low that they cannot reproduce or inbreeding becomes common, extinction could follow. For scientists, zoos are not the answer, saving koalas' habitat is.

一旦区域性的考拉数量急剧减少，它们便无法正常繁衍，因此造成的近亲繁殖更是加速了灭绝的进程。对于科学家而言，保护考拉数量的关键并不是把它们送进动物园，而是竭尽全力挽救它们赖以生存的栖息环境。

VOCABULARY

drought: n. 干旱

deforestation: n. 去森林化；森林砍伐

bushland: n. 矮灌丛地；原始森林