There is no doubt that the fires tearing across eastern Australia have been hurting koalas.

With large areas of their crucial habitat ravaged, it is unclear what the future holds for a species that was already under threat before this round of bush fires. Some koalas have been rescued — singed and dehydrated — from the wild. And with blazes still burning, it is hard to know how many have been killed.

But in describing the plight of these animals, is it possible to go too far?

The phrase “functionally extinct” made the rounds in news articles and on social media over the weekend. The term refers to a species that no longer plays a role in an ecosystem or that is on its way to extinction, possibly irremovably.

That provoked a visceral reaction from readers who wondered if the fuzzy marsupials, a national symbol of Australia, will be gone forever.

In fact, koalas are not extinct. And some scientists warned that exaggeration can hurt, rather than help, conservation efforts.