2008-10-27 肯尼亚偷猎状况恶化

This is Kenya's Masai Mara, one of Africa's great natural wonders, filled with a wonder of life. But these days political unrest has scared away many tourists. And fewer visitors means less revenue to protect the animals that live here.

The nearly 600-square-mile reserve is funded by entrance fees and private donations. Last year thousands of people came to the Mara. Now, number has dwindled¹, hotels are shut down and workers are without jobs. And as Kenya's civil unrest continues, the Mara and its animals face an uncertain future. Teams go out every day to combat the threat of poachers. But with funds drying up, the reserve can't afford the man-power they need. Security patrols are being limited.

The worry is that poachers will fill the vacuum left by fewer rangers³. This is Joseph Kimojino, he hunts daily for snares⁵ that either kill animals or leave them maimed and vulnerable to attack from predators⁶.

“So when the num…, when the animal is going and then the snare⁴ may end up pulling the neck or maybe pulling it with its legs.”

Being caught in a snare and left to die is a painful, grueling death.

Bryant Heath, director of the Mara Conservancy says he has less money now to combat poachers.

“The biggest effect has been in a huge reduction in tourists, an almost instantaneous drop by 18 percent in the number of tourist. We rely on our share of revenue to maintain the park, to meet our expenses, to cover security and operational costs. So it had a huge impact on our ability to operate.”

This patrol manages to apprehend⁷ some suspects and scare off others. Back at base, the rangers discovered the men are not from Kenya but from neighboring Tanzania.

This suspect says he is a 48-year-old father of 8 children who needs to hunt in order to feed his kids and pay for their school fees. His hunting partner says he has 6 children to support. They both say they have no other way to make a living. The men claim this is their first foray into the Masai Mara, but the rangers don't believe it.

The suspected poachers are led away. They may face a prison sentence or a fine they can not afford to pay. Poaching is not a lucrative⁸ profession. The meat from an entire hippo would generate only about 100 US dollars. By comparison the rangers may be in line for a bonus. As an incentive⁹, they receive extra money each time they apprehend a poacher.

Joseph blogs about his experience as a ranger². His blog gets more than a thousand hits a day. And readers in Japan recently contributed some 23,000 dollars in a single month. It maybe the reserve’s only hope in recouping lost revenue.

“I think we are on the edge of (the) crisis, I know that all of the wildlife management authorities in this country both private, such as the Mara Conservancy and the KWS are facing drastic cuts to their budgets to the point where clearly they don't have the presence on the ground anymore. Now how quickly this will be taken out. That they can stop poaching again remains¹⁰ to be seen. Hopefully the crisis will be short-lived and in the meantime we have to find ways of finding alternative funding.”

These days fewer people may be seeing this spectacular reserve in person. But perhaps through the World Wide Web, they will experience the Masai Mara and understand it needs global support.

1 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

3 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

4 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

5 snares   

n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He shoots rabbits and he sets snares for them. 他射杀兔子，也安放陷阱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death. 我自己不知不觉跌进了死神的陷阱。 来自辞典例句

6 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

8 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

9 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。