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You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
Australia has begun the largest cull and relocation of koalas in an attempt to save the species from sickness and starvation in the State of Victoria.
Koala populations in the state's Cape Otway region have skyrocketed and are unsustainable, prompting wildlife officers to put starving and sick koalas to sleep, while others will also implant a number of females with contraceptive devices.
The government secretly culled more than 700 of the marsupials back in 2013 and 2014, but overpopulation has persisted, posing a danger to koalas and their habitat.
Jim O'Brien from the Department of Environment told the Guardian Australia that the issue was proving fatal to the animals.
O'Brien said there should be less than one koala per hectare on average, but they were finding 15 to 20 koalas on a tree in some places.
He said Koalas have no natural predators now, so something had to give and it was both the trees and the animals. Some koalas have been found at the base of trees. These trees then die, leading to further problems.
O'Brien said the forest was at risk because of overgrazing by the high numbers of koalas, which would have further flow-on effects to the health of the thousands of the marsupials in the area.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
The number of black snub-nosed monkeys, an endangered species, continues to increase.
The monkeys, known here in China as Yunnan golden hair monkeys, are among the world's most endangered primates. They live in mountainous forests in southwest China's Yunnan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Most of the monkeys live in the Baima Snow Mountain Nature Reserve in Yunnan, which was established in 1983.
The number of monkeys in the reserve has grown from 1,200 to 1,500 since 2004. The animal's habitat has also expanded southward for around 40 kilometers.
The total number of black snub-nosed monkeys in China has increased to over 3,000 from 500 in the 1980s, when they were close to extinction because local hunters poached them for food or their striking black and white fur.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
China's Shandong Province is preparing a bid for the family cuisine of ancient philosopher Confucius to be listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage item.
A committee for the standardization of Confucius's family cuisine has been established and preparations have started for the UNESCO application.
Local officials say it will take at least three years before everything is prepared for the application, adding that the committee plans to hire special teams to collect historical materials and promote standardized production.
The family cuisine of Confucius developed as a result of frequent visits by China's emperors, high-ranking officials and other distinguished guests to Confucius's home in the province. Many banquets, ceremonies and royal commemorations were held there, giving the family the opportunity to develop its unique food style.
