Cool koalas 萌酷的考拉

陈小将

自澳大利亚发生毁灭性的森林大火以来，当地考拉的数量已有所下降。这对这些可爱、毛茸茸的有袋类动物的未来有什么影响？科学家们希望通过不断地探索可以进一步了解此物种，从而保护它们的栖息地。本文介绍一些关于萌酷考拉的惊奇事实。
词汇：wildlife 野生动物
When you think of a cute, furry wild animal, you often picture a koala. These adorable-looking creatures appear docile and friendly, so it’s no wonder people are concerned about the future of the species after the devastating bushfires that destroyed parts of Australia earlier this year. Luckily, many survived, which gives us a chance to continue to learn more about these marsupials.
Australia’s native and unique wildlife such as kangaroos, platypus and koalas, are under constant threat from human activity and natural disasters. It’s thought at least a billion animals lost their lives as a result of this year’s bushfires. Recently, drones and thermal imaging technology have been used to track their movements to help them keep safe. Protecting these unique species is important because, as The Australian Koala Foundation estimates, there are now possibly as few as 43,000 koalas in the wild.
So, what is so special about koalas and what makes them so ‘cool’? Maybe we envy their ability to sleep for up to 22 hours day! Or could it be their laid-back appearance due to the fact that they are herbivores and mainly feed on juicy eucalyptus leaves, which take a lot of time and energy to digest.
What is amazing is that because they often live in a dry and hot environment, they drink very little water. So, how do they survive? Well, scientists have discovered that these wild mammals lick running water off the smooth surface of a tree trunk when it is raining. This phenomenon is called "stemflow". Valentina Mella, the lead author of the research and an ethnologist from the University of Sydney, told the BBC: "I think the main message is that behavioural observations in the wild are very important to establish what is normal and what is unusual, and to truly understand what animals need. If we watch them carefully, they will tell us."
So, despite the word ‘koala’ meaning 'no drink' or 'no water' in the Aboriginal language, it seems that even these sleepy creatures do need a drink sometimes. And if we’re to encourage them to flourish, we need to conserve their habitat.