VOA常速英语2015--用DNA测试确定大象盗猎地点（在线收听）

用DNA测试确定大象盗猎地点

There’s a new weapon in the fight to stop elephant poaching: genetics. DNA testing, which is frequently used to solve crimes, has pinpointed where most of Africa’s elephants are being slaughtered.

现在有了对付大象盗猎现象的新武器——遗传学，通常用来破案的NDA测试可以查明非洲大多数大象被屠杀的地点。

The African elephant is the world’s largest land animal and is vital to the environment in which it lives. But the elephant population is shrinking fast, as demand for illegal ivory remains high, especially in Asia.

非洲大象是世界上最大的陆地动物，对它所生存的环境来说很重要。但由于对非法象牙的需求仍很高，尤其是在亚洲，因此大象数量在锐减。

University of Washington biology professor Sam Wasser and his colleagues conducted the ivory DNA research. They tested samples seized by authorities between 1996 and 2014.

华盛顿大学生物学教授萨姆·瓦塞尔和同事们进行了象牙DNA测试，他们测试了当局在1996年到2014年期间查获到的象牙。

“We are currently losing an estimated 50,000 African elephants a year to poaching. And there’s only about 470,000 elephants remaining in the population. So, that’s about a tenth of the population being lost each year,” he said.

“目前每年有大约5万头非洲大象死于盗猎，目前大约仍有大象47万头，所以每年有大约十分之一的大象消失。”

He said the best way to stop elephant poaching is to stop the demand for ivory. But that’s a long, slow process. So Wasser said efforts must also focus on preventing attacks on the animals.

他说遏制大象盗猎的最好办法是杜绝对象牙的需求，但这是个漫长、缓慢的过程，所以瓦塞尔说关键是预防对大象的袭击。

“Their loss is already causing major ecological and economic damage in Africa, threatening national security. And again, if we do not curb the killing, we are really going to cause serious problems throughout Africa.”

“大象盗猎已经对非洲造成了重大的生态和经济破坏，威胁着国家安全，如果我们不能遏制对大象的杀戮，就会导致整个非洲出现严重的问题。”

Researchers used DNA to determine the origin of large ivory seizures. They used ivory from 28 seizures. Each weighed a minimum of half a metric ton and worth at least $1 million.

研究人员使用DNA来鉴定大批象牙查获品的来源，他们使用的象牙来自28批查获品，每批都至少重半公吨，价值至少100万美元。

Wasser said, “The size and value of these seizures suggests that these are really involving large transnational organized-crime syndicates. They’re individuals that can afford to lose a million dollars in a single seizure. And what is also important about these large seizures is they represent 70 percent of all ivory that is seized. So, we’re really talking about the majority of ivory being moved around the world.”

瓦塞尔说，“这些查获品的规模和价值表明这些活动是有组织的大型跨国犯罪集团所为，他们能负担得起单次查获中遭受的100万美元的损失。关于这些大型查获品来说很重要的一点是它们占全部查获象牙的70%，所以这些是在全世界各地流转的大部分象牙。”

Wasser said that over the past decade, nearly all the seized ivory came from just two places in Africa, mostly poached by organized crime. Ivory DNA was compared with DNA found in 1,500 elephant dung samples.

瓦塞尔说过去10年间，几乎所有查获的象牙都来自非洲的两个地方，且大多是被有组织犯罪者盗猎的。他们将象牙的DNA与1500头大象粪便里的DNA进行对比。

“Virtually, all of these seizures came from just two hot spots. One is for forest elephants, which is in the Triduum area of Central Africa. And that’s northeast Gabon, northwest Republic of Congo and the adjacent Dzanga Sangha in Central African Republic. But the biggest hot spot was in southern Tanzania. Probably two-thirds of the ivory came from there, starting in the Selous Game Reserve — a major protected area in the south — and the adjacent Niassa Game Reserve in northern Mozambique.”

“事实上，这些查获品全部来自两个热点地区，一个是森林大象，它们来自中非的Triduum地区，也就是加蓬北部、刚果共和国西北部和临近的中非共和国桑加森林保护区。但最大的热点是坦桑尼亚南部，可能有三分之二的象牙来自那里的塞卢斯禁猎区—这是南部的重要保护区—以及临近莫桑比克北部的尼亚萨禁猎区。”

He said as the number of elephants dwindled in those areas, poaching moved toward Ruaha National Park and Rungwa Game Reserve in Tanzania.

他说，随着这些地区大象数量的减少，盗猎活动开始转向坦桑尼亚的鲁阿哈国家公园和荣格瓦野生动物保护区。

He said that the DNA information can help authorities target poachers and “choke the flow of ivory into the complex criminal networks.”

他说这些DNA信息能帮助当局确定盗猎者，并“遏制象牙流向复杂的犯罪网络”。

The study said the DNA technique could be adapted to other animals as well, and its accuracy improved. In fact, it could eventually allow authorities to mount coordinated, international responses.

这份研究称DNA技术也能用于其他动物，且其精确度得到了提高。事实上，DNA技术还能让当局实施协调一致的国际应对措施。

Researchers said the illegal wildlife trade is the world’s fourth-largest organized crime.

研究者称非法野生物贸易是全世界第四大有组织的犯罪。