TUGAS 1 BAHASA INGGRIS 2
A staggering 1 billion
animals are now estimated dead in Australia’s fires
By Updated
The number of kangaroos, koalas, and others killed keeps
skyrocketing. Here’s where the eye-popping estimate comes from.
The bushfires, exacerbated by climate
change, have since September swept through vast swathes of
Australia — we’re talking about an area bigger than Vermont and New Hampshire
combined — affecting a mix of rural and suburban areas.
Many wild animals and some farm animals have been killed
directly by the flames. We can see the evidence with our own eyes: Distressing
images of burned kangaroos and koalas, and videos of
dead animals on the sides of the roads, have circulated online over the past
week.
Other animals have not been burned alive but have faced death
due to the destruction of their natural environment, which they rely on for
food and shelter.
Initially, the number of animals killed was put at 480 million,
an estimate that came from Chris Dickman, a biodiversity expert at the
University of Sydney, last week. A statement from
that institution explained how he arrived at the number.
In 2007, Dickman co-authored a report for
the WWF (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund) on how land-clearing affects
Australian wildlife in the state of New South Wales (NSW). To calculate the
impact, he and the other authors first mined previously published studies for
estimates of mammal population density in NSW. Then they multiplied the density
estimates by the areas of vegetation approved to be cleared.
Using this simple formula, Dickman was able to calculate that
approximately 480 million animals had been killed since the bushfires in NSW
started in September
Some experts suggested that
estimate was too high. Sadly,
there are three reasons to believe the true loss of animal life is much greater
— more like 1 billion.
First, the 480 million number applied to NSW alone, and the
bushfires have since spread to the state of Victoria. Second, the number
included mammals, birds, and reptiles, but did not include insects, bats, or
frogs. Third, the 2007 report “deliberately employed highly conservative
estimates in making their calculations,” according to the statement.
That’s why Dickman now estimates the real number of animals lost
in the fires is at least 1 billion.
“The original figure ― the 480 million ― was based on mammals,
birds, and reptiles for which we do have densities, and that figure now is a
little bit out of date. It’s over 800 million given the extent of the fires now
― in New South Wales alone,” he told the Huffington
Post.
If we also count bats, frogs, and invertebrates (and given their
environmental impact, there’s good reason to
think we should), Dickman said it’s “without any doubt at all” that the number
of animals lost tops 1 billion. “Over a billion would be a very conservative
figure.”
Stuart Blanch, an environmental scientist at WWF Australia, also said 1
billion was a modest estimate given how far the fires have recently spread,
according to HuffPost.
Anwen, a female koala, recovers from burns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia, on November 29, 2019. Nathan Edwards/Getty Images
How the fires became so
deadly for animals
At this point, you might be asking yourself: Can’t animals just
run away from a raging fire? Can’t birds just fly away?
In many cases, particularly for birds, the answer is yes.
“Certainly, large animals, like kangaroos or emus — many birds, of course —
will be able to move away from the fire as it approaches,” Dickman told the
BBC. But he added that “it’s the less mobile species and the smaller ones that
depend on the forest itself that are really in the firing line.”
Koalas are a good example. An estimated 8,000 of
them have died from the fires, ecologists say. That’s almost one-third of all
koalas in NSW, which forms their main habitat.
“It may well be up to 30 percent of the population in that
region [was killed], because up to 30 percent of their habitat has been
destroyed,” explained Sussan
Ley, Australia’s environment minister.
WWF is
currently collecting donations to restore koala habitats. Other animals may
have fared better — reptiles, for example.
“Although it is hard to find estimates of how well reptiles
survive fires, in similar areas of Australia the majority of these reptiles
live in the soil,” said Colin
Beale, an ecologist from the University of York. “Soil is a very good thermal
insulator and burrowing reptiles can certainly show very low mortality even
during intense fires.”
Some ecologists, including Beale, say Dickman’s estimates may be
inflated. Although it’s plausible many animals have been affected by the fires,
the proportion of them that actually died may be smaller.
Let’s hope so. The truth is, it’s hard for anyone to know the
precise impact of the fires at this stage, not least because many animals that
survive the flames will likely die later due to lack of food, water, and
shelter.
Regardless of the exact numbers, this is a crisis for
biodiversity in Australia, which is home to some of Earth’s most distinctive
animals, like marsupials. Around 244 species of mammals are found only in
Australia. What’s more, according to the University of Sydney’s statement,
“Some 34 species and subspecies of native mammals have become extinct in
Australia over the last 200 years, the highest rate of loss for any region in
the world.”
The current loss of Australian animal life is a serious tragedy
by anyone’s count. It
adds to the terrible human toll: two dozen people killed, and thousands more
evacuated. Fires are expected to keep raging for another month.
To help with the evacuations and firefighting, the government
announced this weekend that it’s deploying the military. Experts say the
deployment is on a scale not seen since World War II. As Defense Minister Linda
Reynolds put it,
“It is the first time that reserves have been called out in this way in living
memory.”
Source : https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/1/6/21051897/australia-fires-billion-animals-dead-estimate
Name : Dessy Nopyanti A
Class : 1EA01
NPM : 11219677
Direc Speech :
1.
The
original figure ― the 480 million ― was based on mammals, birds, and reptiles
for which we do have densities, and that figure now is a little bit out of
date. It’s over 800 million given the extent of the fires now ― in New South
Wales alone,” he told the Huffington Post.
Tenses
: (Passive) Simple Past Tense
2.
“It may
well be up to 30 percent of the population in that region [was killed], because
up to 30 percent of their habitat has been destroyed,” explained Sussan Ley, Australia’s environment minister
Tenses
: - … [ was killed ], (Active) Simple Past Tense
- …has been destroyed … (Passive) Simple Present
Tense
3.
“Although
it is hard to find estimates of how well reptiles survive fires, in similar
areas of Australia the majority of these reptiles live in the soil,” said Colin Beale, an ecologist from the University of York
Tenses
: (Active) Simple Present Tense
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