Growing Plants to Save Australia's Koalas

Growing Plants to Save Australia's Koalas

种植植物以拯救澳大利亚的考拉

【原文听力】

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　　By Gena Bennett

　　05 December 2023

　　Lucy was rescued from a rural property in New South Wales, Australia, two years ago. She was suffering from chlamydia, a disease widespread among koalas.

　　Today, she is one of the lucky animals living in tree corridors that have been created to protect koalas and other animals by saving their quickly shrinking habitat, or natural environment.

　　The corridors, planted by the local conservation group Bangalow Koalas, are made up of large systems of plants. They are a lifeline for koalas and other animals like the glossy black cockatoo, gliders, possums, and wallabies. All of them are endangered, or at risk of becoming extinct.

　　The corridors provide a safe path across the koala's increasingly broken habitat. This permits increased genetic mixing and protection from human threats.

　　"Our corridors are actually trying to get them away from humans, from cars, from dogs," said Linda Sparrow, president of Bangalow Koalas. "They can safely move across the landscape and not have to put up with us humans."

　　The koala is predicted to be extinct in the wild in New South Wales by 2050. Some of the biggest threats include wildfires and habitat loss through land clearing for development. Koalas have already been declared endangered in several Australian states.

　　Founded in 2019, Bangalow Koalas has planted over 336,000 trees on 119 properties, helping koala conservation and improving the local ecosystem. The group, which depends on community volunteers, aims to plant 500,000 trees by 2025.

　　"The neighbor would want to join and then another neighbor will want to join," Sparrow said, describing increasing the number of people involved in the corridor.

　　Volunteer Lindy Stacker, who has been planting trees for over five years, said the activity is good for mental health and has brought the community together.

　　A recent report by the Australian Koala Foundation said the animal was worth an estimated $3.2 billion per year to the tourism industry.

　　However, the World Wildlife Fund-Australia reported concerning declines in koala populations in Australian states, with a 50 percent drop in Queensland and a 62 percent drop in New South Wales since 2001.

　　Sparrow remains committed to the cause.

　　"I can't imagine a world where there's no koalas in the wild," she said.

　　"We're going to do everything we can possibly to make sure that doesn't happen."

　　I'm Gena Bennett.

　　Jill Gralow reported this story for Reuters. Gena Bennett adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Gena Bennett

　　日期：2023年12月5日

　　两年前，Lucy从澳大利亚新南威尔士州的一个农村地产被救出。她当时正受到衣原体病的困扰，这是在考拉中广泛存在的一种疾病。

　　如今，她是幸运的动物之一，生活在被创建出来保护考拉和其他动物、拯救他们迅速缩小的栖息地或自然环境的树木走廊中。

　　这些走廊由当地的保护组织Bangalow Koalas种植，由大型植物系统组成。它们是考拉和其他动物如光亮的黑色鹦鹉、滑翔者、负鼠和袋鼠的生命线。所有这些动物都处于濒危状态，或者有可能灭绝。

　　这些走廊为考拉提供了一条安全的通道，穿越他们日益破碎的栖息地。这使得基因混合增加，同时也保护他们免受人类的威胁。

　　"我们的走廊实际上是试图让他们远离人类，远离汽车，远离狗，" Bangalow Koalas的主席Linda Sparrow说。"他们可以安全地在景观中移动，而不必忍受我们人类的困扰。"

　　预计到2050年，考拉在新南威尔士州的野外将会灭绝。其中一些最大的威胁包括野火和为了发展而进行的土地清理导致的栖息地丧失。考拉已经在澳大利亚的几个州被宣布为濒危物种。

　　Bangalow Koalas成立于2019年，已经在119个地产上种植了超过336,000棵树，帮助考拉保护和改善了当地的生态系统。这个依赖社区志愿者的团队，计划到2025年种植500,000棵树。

　　"邻居会想要加入，然后另一个邻居也会想要加入，" Sparrow描述了参与走廊项目的人数正在增加。

　　志愿者Lindy Stacker已经种植树木超过五年，她说这项活动对心理健康有益，也拉近了社区的关系。

　　澳大利亚考拉基金会最近的一份报告称，这种动物每年为旅游业带来的价值估计为32亿美元。

　　然而，世界自然基金会-澳大利亚报告了澳大利亚各州考拉数量的令人担忧的下降，自2001年以来，昆士兰的考拉数量下降了50%，新南威尔士州下降了62%。

　　Sparrow仍然致力于这个事业。

　　"我无法想象一个野外没有考拉的世界，"她说。

　　"我们将尽我们所能，确保这种情况不会发生。"

　　我是Gena Bennett。

　　这个故事是Jill Gralow为路透社报道的，Gena Bennett为VOA学习英语进行了改编。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　corridor–n.连接并提供通道的土地

　　extinct–adj. 不再存在

　　landscape–n. 你可以在一片土地上看到的特质

　　tourism–n. 为了度假或娱乐的旅行