VOA慢速英语2020 疫情致非洲野生动物保护难度增加（在线收听）

A drop in tourism during the coronavirus crisis is making it more difficult for some organizations to protect threatened wildlife in Africa.

新冠病毒危机期间旅游业下滑，导致一些组织保护非洲濒危野生动物的难度增加。

Wildlife officials fear poaching activity will rise because the collapse of the travel industry leaves less money for guarding animals.

野生动物方面的官员担心，因旅游业崩溃造成动物保护的资金减少，偷猎活动会顺势增加。

In Kenya, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy project is home to more than 130 black rhinos. It forms the single largest group of the animals in East and Central Africa.

肯尼亚Ol Pejeta保护区工程是130多头黑犀牛的家园， 它是东非和中非最大的动物群。

"We are more alert because maybe more poachers will use this time to come in to poach," said John Tekeles. He is a guard at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. His comments were reported by The Associated Press (AP).

“我们更加警惕，因为可能有更多偷猎者趁机来此偷猎”，约翰特克莱斯说。他是Ol pejeta保护区的警卫，美联社报道了他的言论。

African rhinos have long been under threat from poachers who kill them for their horns. The illegal trade is fueled by the belief, in some cultures, that the horns have medicinal value which has not been proven by science.

长期以来，非洲犀牛一直受到偷猎者的威胁，他们为了获得犀牛角而猎杀犀牛。这些非法交易受一些文化信仰的驱使，认为犀牛角有药用价值。这一说法尚未得到科学证实。

The number of black rhinos in Africa has been slowly increasing.But a report in March by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, said it still considered the animals "critically endangered." In part, the organization credits the comeback of the rhinos to effective law enforcement.

非洲黑犀牛的数量一直在缓慢增长，但是在国际自然保护联盟3月的报道中，称这类动物仍属“极度濒危”。在某种程度上，该组织将犀牛的数量回升归功于有效的执法措施。

However, Ol Pejeta's director, Richard Vigne, said enforcement measures are very costly. He said he spends about $10,000 each year for every rhino to pay for the protection.

然而，OI pejeta的负责人理查得维格勒（Richard Vigne）表示，强制措施代价不菲，他每年为每头犀牛支付1万美元保护费用。

"In our case, that comes to close to $2 million a year," Vigne told the AP. "In the time of COVID, when tourism has completely stopped, where most of our revenue comes from tourism...it's a complete disaster." COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.

维格勒告诉美联社：“拿我们的情况举例，每年的费用接近200万美元。在新冠疫情中，旅游业完全停滞，而我们的收入绝大部分来自旅游业......这根本就是灾难”。新冠肺炎是冠状病毒引起的疾病。

The conservancy expects to lose $3 to $4 million this year. Vigne said the loss severely limits the group's ability to protect the rhinos.

该保护区今年将损失300到400万美元，维格勒指出，这些损失严重限制了该组织保护犀牛的能力。

Wildlife activists across Africa are now waiting to see how poachers will react to the current situation, and whether more rare wildlife will be killed.

如今，非洲各地的野生动物活动家都在观望有多少偷猎者利用当前形势采取行动，是否有更多的野生动物被猎杀。

Poaching of African rhinos had been decreasing in recent years, the IUCN reported. The group said there were 892 acts of poaching in 2018, down from a high of 1,349 in 2015.

国际自然保护联盟报告称，近年来，偷猎非洲犀牛的行为有所减少。该组织表示，2018年有892起偷猎活动，低于2015年的1349起。

The IUCN said the population of black rhinos grew at a yearly rate of 2.5 percent between 2012 and 2018. Now, there are more than 5,600 animals. That growth was predicted to continue over the next five years, the environmental group said.

国际自然保护联盟表示，2012到2018年间，非洲黑犀牛的数量以每年2.5%的速度增长，如今，这里有超过5600头黑犀牛。该环保组织说，预计未来5年这种增长仍会持续下去。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩为您播报。

Words in This Story

tourism – n. the business of visiting a place for pleasure

poach – v. to catch and kill animals without permission on someone else's land

alert – n. quick to see, understand or act in a particular situation

critically – adv. in a way that is serious or bad

endangered – adj. in danger of being harmed or lost

revenue – n. the profits made from a business