REPORTS CLAIM KOALAS ARE NOW ‘FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT’. THAT’S NOT ACTUALLY TRUE.

Reports that koalas are functionally extinct following Australia’s bushfires have gone viral. Fortunately for koala fans, those reports are not accurate.

A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. Source: Getty

Over the weekend, a series of news reports claiming that koalas are now "functionally extinct" went viral.

The widely-shared reports claimed that Australia's recent bushfires destroyed 80 percent of koala habitat, leaving koalas "functionally extinct" -- a term that describes an animal population that has become so limited that the species can no longer reproduce.

Fortunately for koala fans, these reports are not accurate. But that doesn't mean koalas are doing fine, either. Here's what's going on.

Read the full story in English here.