自毁灭性的森林大火以来，澳大利亚野生动物园诞生了第一只考拉宝宝

自毁灭性的森林大火以来，澳大利亚野生动物园诞生了第一只考拉宝宝

A wildlife park in Australia is offering a tiny, fluffy bundle of good news. Keepers announced the birth of their first baby koala since bushfires devastated the continent. The Australian Reptile Park near Sydney, New South Wales, posted a video of the baby koala, known as a joey. Keepers named her Ash.

澳大利亚的一个野生动物公园提供了一个小小的，毛茸茸的好消息。饲养员宣布，自从森林大火摧毁该地区以来，他们的第一个考拉宝宝诞生了。澳大利亚新南威尔士州悉尼附近的爬行动物公园发布了一段考拉幼仔的视频。饲养员给她起名叫阿什。

MARY JO DILONARDO

"We have a very special announcement... Our very first koala of the season has popped out of Mums pouch to say hello!" the park posted. They called her "a sign of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife."

“我们有一个非常特别的声明……我们这个季节的第一只考拉从妈妈的育儿袋里蹦出来打招呼!”他们称她为“澳大利亚本土野生动物未来希望的标志”。

The wildlife park reopened May 1 after closing down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the baby koala's birth, she has been a massive hit online, and has started popping out more frequently to greet her fans. Her mom, Rosie, looks on quietly as the little joey surveys her new world.

由于新冠肺炎疫情，野生动物园在3月份关闭，5月1日重新开放。自从这只考拉宝宝出生后，她就成为了网络上的热门话题，并开始更频繁地出现在粉丝面前。她的妈妈罗西静静地看着小宝宝观察她的新世界。

Bushfires began erupting across eastern and western Australia in October, ravaging many parts of Australia. By the time they were contained in February, the fires had destroyed more than 2,400 homes and about 13.3 million acres (5.4 million hectacres) just in the eastern state of New South Wales, the country's most populous state.

去年10月，澳大利亚东部和西部地区开始出现森林大火，烧毁了澳大利亚的许多地区。到今年2月火势得到控制时，仅在人口最多的新南威尔士州东部，大火就烧毁了2400多所房屋和大约1330万英亩(540万公顷)土地。

There were many heartbreaking stories and videos from the fires — including images of the many animals that were affected. Koalas were especially hard hit. More than 30 koalas were rescued from fires and brought to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in New South Wales. After raising more than $7.8 million initially to install drinking stations in burned-out areas across country, the hospital now plans to start a koala breeding program with all the extra funds.

火灾中有许多令人心碎的故事和视频，包括许多受影响动物的照片。考拉受到的打击尤其严重。超过30只考拉从大火中被救出，送到新南威尔士州的麦夸里港考拉医院。在筹集了780多万美元用于在全国各地被烧毁的地区建立饮水站之后，这家医院现在计划用所有的额外资金启动一个考拉繁殖项目。

Koalas are endemic to Australia, meaning that's the only place where the marsupials exist in the wild. Australia was once home to millions of koalas, but the Australian Koala Foundation says koalas are now "functionally extinct." The group estimates there are no more than 80,000 koalas left in the wild in Australia.

考拉是澳大利亚特有的，这意味着这是有袋动物在野外生存的唯一地方。澳大利亚曾经是数百万只考拉的家园，但澳大利亚考拉基金会表示，考拉现在已经“功能性灭绝”。该组织估计，澳大利亚野生考拉数量不超过8万只。

The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species lists koalas as "vulnerable" with decreasing numbers. The WWF has warned that koalas could be extinct in New South Wales by 2050.

国际自然保护联盟(IUCN)的濒危物种红色名录将考拉列为“易受伤害”的物种，而且数量在不断减少。世界自然基金会警告说，到2050年，新南威尔士州的考拉可能会灭绝。

But at least there's a little good news at the wildlife park with newborn Ash.

但至少在野生动物公园有个好消息，小阿什出生了。

One Facebook fan posted, "Come on Australia its time to wake up and do all we can to protect this amazing animal from extinction."

一位粉丝在Facebook上发帖称:“澳大利亚，该醒醒了，我们要尽一切努力保护这只神奇的动物免于灭绝。”