The Koala retrovirus, or KoRV, is a lesser-known danger to the famous Australian mammal. So scientists at the University of Queensland set out to learn more about KoRV's transmission to understand the virus better.
(Photo : Paul Sudmals, Reuters) Before the fires, koalas were on the verge of extinction, with their numbers plummeting owing to habitat clearance, drought, illness, vehicle accidents, and dog attacks. The bushfires put the icing on the cake, wreaking havoc on already vulnerable koala numbers and crucial habitat.
Decline in Population
(Photo : Michaela Blyton)
Since 2001, koala numbers in NSW have decreased by 33 percent to 61 percent, with at least 6,400 dead in the Black Summer bushfires.
If nothing is done, koalas in NSW may become extinct by 2050.
Due to deforestation, drought, and bushfires, Queensland s koala population has decreased by at least 50% since 2001.
In 2012, koala populations in both states and those in the ACT were designated as vulnerable.
May 16, 2021 10:58 PM EDT
In Australia s collective mythology, the outback plays a significant role. For others, it s a mythical land of extreme beauty and adversity that shaped the Australian psyche. For some, though, this is a false myth - a tale that Australia wished to tell itself and desired to believe, of a property that had been taken from Aboriginal people, as author Alexis Wright puts it.
(Photo : Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Outback
(Photo : lum-box on PIxabay)
What is certain is that the enormous country, which encompasses 5.6 million square kilometers and includes the Northern Territory, much of Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, and a corner of New South Wales, is one of the world s few great untamed regions.