Koalas At Risk From Extinction
It seems Australia's cuddliest creatures are now at risk. They are dying out apparently due to global warming depleating the supply of nutrients in the Eucalyptus leaves these animals feed on. Koalas are among the World's fussiest eaters, and certain individuals will only eat certain varieties of these leaves. If that tree dies out, that koala will die too of starvation. I am the same way, I just discovered I am diabetic, and everyone tells me if I want to live, I need to change my eating habits and consume more healthy foods. I cannot do it because I find most vegetables disgusting!!! I only like peas, carrots, corn, potatoes and sometimes celery. But I cannot make a meal of that!! And I was brought up that dinner has to include meat and bread. I'd personally rather die than switch to a vegetarian diet!! But anyway, this was the article I got from Discovery News.
P.S.: Ignore the fact the title refers to them as koala "bears"!! They are NOT bears! It always chaffs my ass to hear people calling them that!!!
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/11/koala-bear-endanger.html
Koala Bears at Risk for Extinction, Group Says
Julie Shingleton, AFP
Dec. 11, 2008 -- Australia's iconic koala will become extinct in some areas of the country if the federal government does not take urgent action, conservationists have warned.
A group of Australian scientists will meet with government officials in Canberra on Friday in a bid to hammer out a national koala conservation strategy to keep key populations of the animals from dying out.
Less than 100,000 koalas are left in the country, compared to millions before they were heavily hunted for fur in the 1920s, said Deborah Tabart from the Australian Koala Foundation.
"The population of koalas in southeast Queensland has decreased from 10,000 to less than 4,000 in a decade," Tabart said.
The population in the southeast Queensland area known as the Koala Coast has fallen by at least 26 percent to 4,611 animals since a 1996-1999 survey as development encroached on their natural habitats, she said.
"We know that there are even less now, in the order of 3,800," Tabart said.
Kat Miller of the World Wildlife Fund also warned that koalas could be on their way to extinction along with several other Australian species."There are more than 1,700 federally-listed threatened populations of animals in Australia. There is an extinction crisis in Australia. The koala may well be the next one to go downhill."
The Australian Koala Foundation is urging Environment Minister Peter Garrett to declare the southeast Queensland koala population as critically endangered under law in a bid to protect their habitats from further developments.
"This is the most important thing Minister Garrett and his department can do right now to show he is serious about saving the koala," said Tabart."These declines just cannot continue if we still want to see our beautiful icon here."
Climate change has also played in the decline as it altered the nutritional make-up of their staple food, gumtree leaves, Tabart said.
Post mortems of around 700 koalas in southeast Queensland have found that most were "wasted" when they died.
"The impact of climate change on the nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves has been proven to affect koalas," she said.
Garrett has said he had charged Australia's Threatened Species Scientific Committee with assessing the risk to the koala but warned that he needed to await the committee's report before he could act.
"This is a clear indication of how seriously the Australian government is considering reports from the Australian Koala Foundation and others on diminishing koala numbers in some regions," the minister said.
P.S.: Ignore the fact the title refers to them as koala "bears"!! They are NOT bears! It always chaffs my ass to hear people calling them that!!!
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/11/koala-bear-endanger.html
Koala Bears at Risk for Extinction, Group Says
Julie Shingleton, AFP
Dec. 11, 2008 -- Australia's iconic koala will become extinct in some areas of the country if the federal government does not take urgent action, conservationists have warned.
A group of Australian scientists will meet with government officials in Canberra on Friday in a bid to hammer out a national koala conservation strategy to keep key populations of the animals from dying out.
Less than 100,000 koalas are left in the country, compared to millions before they were heavily hunted for fur in the 1920s, said Deborah Tabart from the Australian Koala Foundation.
"The population of koalas in southeast Queensland has decreased from 10,000 to less than 4,000 in a decade," Tabart said.
The population in the southeast Queensland area known as the Koala Coast has fallen by at least 26 percent to 4,611 animals since a 1996-1999 survey as development encroached on their natural habitats, she said.
"We know that there are even less now, in the order of 3,800," Tabart said.
Kat Miller of the World Wildlife Fund also warned that koalas could be on their way to extinction along with several other Australian species."There are more than 1,700 federally-listed threatened populations of animals in Australia. There is an extinction crisis in Australia. The koala may well be the next one to go downhill."
The Australian Koala Foundation is urging Environment Minister Peter Garrett to declare the southeast Queensland koala population as critically endangered under law in a bid to protect their habitats from further developments.
"This is the most important thing Minister Garrett and his department can do right now to show he is serious about saving the koala," said Tabart."These declines just cannot continue if we still want to see our beautiful icon here."
Climate change has also played in the decline as it altered the nutritional make-up of their staple food, gumtree leaves, Tabart said.
Post mortems of around 700 koalas in southeast Queensland have found that most were "wasted" when they died.
"The impact of climate change on the nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves has been proven to affect koalas," she said.
Garrett has said he had charged Australia's Threatened Species Scientific Committee with assessing the risk to the koala but warned that he needed to await the committee's report before he could act.
"This is a clear indication of how seriously the Australian government is considering reports from the Australian Koala Foundation and others on diminishing koala numbers in some regions," the minister said.
Try a low-carb diet rich in healthy fats, protein and complex carbohydrates. They work very well for diabetics.
ReplyDeleteI need to find out the difference between healthy fats and unhealthy fats. So far, I've been avoiding anything that doesn't say '0% Trans fat'.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link for you to get started
ReplyDeletehttp://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm
I wouldn't worry too much about animal fats and dairy products such as butter. As long as you eat plenty of nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, certain tubers (carrots, sweet potatos ex.) nuts and fungi (mushrooms), they are fine as a good portion of your diet. Avoid trans fats or partially hydrogenated Oils (same thing basically).
What is still misleading about saturated fats is while it is true they raise your levels of "bad" cholesterol, nobody talks about how they also raise your levels of "good" cholesterol by an equal or greater amount.
Rule of thumb; eat like a "caveman". Remember, we humans were hunter-gatherers for well over 2 million years. We ate lots of fresh meat and vegetables during that time period. Even today, the average hunter-gatherer diet is never less than 50% meat based. That is much higher than anything you find among agriculturists.
As a diabetic, your goal will be to eliminate as much processed carbohydrates as possible from your diet. the only sugars and starches you should be consuming should be from the fruits and vegetables you eat.
I wish you luck and good fortune
Well thank you Raymond for your help. The info has been very enlightening. :) I do appreciate it.
ReplyDelete