Koala Population Faces Renewed Threat of Extinction
ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: One of Australia;'s best-known animal species faces an uncertain future.</s>BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: It's the koala bear. The koala population is under serious threat, and researchers are trying to determine how to save them. CNN's Denise Dillon has more now.</s>DENISE DILLON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're cute, they're cuddly, and they are in danger of extinction. Koala bears were recently put on the endangered species list by the United States. This isn't the first time koalas have been in trouble. Before the 1930s, they were hunted almost to extinction for their pelts. The marsupials were declared a protected species. Since then, they have climbed their way back. Today, there are an estimated 100,000 koalas. Now hunters are no longer their biggest threat, it's urbanization.</s>DR. WILLIAM FOLEY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: The roads, because they're very slow in crossing roads. And where roads go through their habitat, that causes significant problems.</s>DILLON: And that's not all. There's a matter of their diet. They live on eucalyptus leaves, and about 80 percent of Australia's eucalyptus forests have been cleared for human use. Of the 20 percent left, not all trees are the same.</s>FOLEY: Taking leaves from two leaves here. Here's one that the animals have not rally touched at all. Here's one from another tree. It's actually the same species, another yellow box that was growing right next to this one but the animals have clearly stripped.</s>DILLON: Some trees have a higher levels of a particular chemical that can make a koala sick, so researchers are trying to determine the chemical composition of eucalyptus trees that koalas prefer.</s>FOLEY: So if we know more about why they're making those choices, we can really choose the trees to replant areas. We can choose trees that might be more favorable in particular environments for koalas.</s>DILLON: By pinpointing which trees are suitable for koalas, it will make it easier to save the habitat, helping the world's fussiest eaters survive. Denise Dillon, CNN.