澳大利亚成为濒危物种的"最后避难所"

澳大利亚已成为多个在原生地濒危或灭绝物种的最后避难所。1全球约20%的引入哺乳动物物种在原生地受威胁，约50%的引入大型动物物种在原生地濒危或灭绝。1其中，单峰驼在北非和中东已灭绝于野生状态约2000年，现仅在澳大利亚有大规模野生种群。1斑牛从东南亚引入澳大利亚热带北部，已因狩猎、栖息地丧失和疾病在其原生地极度濒危。1

尽管这些外来物种对澳洲本地生态构成威胁，澳大利亚当局每年仍射杀或毒害大量单峰驼、鹿和斑牛以保护本地物种。1这一做法引发了生态保护中的复杂辩论——是否应权衡物种灭绝风险与生态伤害。1

Australia has emerged as a critical refuge for several animal species that are endangered or extinct in their native regions, creating a complex ethical dilemma for conservation efforts. The country now hosts significant populations of one-humped camels, sambar deer, and certain other deer species that have either vanished or become critically threatened in their original habitats 1. Approximately 20 percent of all introduced mammal species globally face threats in their native ranges, while roughly 50 percent of introduced large animal species are endangered or extinct in their places of origin 1.

The one-humped camel exemplifies this paradox most starkly, having disappeared from the wild in North Africa and the Middle East roughly 2,000 years ago 1. Australia now sustains the world's largest wild population of the species 1. Sambar deer and gaur have also been introduced to Australia's tropical north from Southeast Asia, where they have become extremely endangered due to hunting, habitat loss, and disease 1. This situation has prompted Australian authorities to cull large numbers of camels, deer, and other introduced species annually to protect native ecosystems 1. The dilemma raises fundamental questions about whether conservation priorities should weigh the risk of species extinction against the ecological damage these introduced animals inflict on local biodiversity 1.