VOA慢速英语--拯救山地大猩猩的努力出现了进展的迹象

Efforts to Save Mountain Gorillas² Show Signs of Progress

Pato, a 19-year-old silverback gorilla¹, walked using his arms and legs toward an infant gorilla, Macibiri.

Pato sat beside her and ran his long fingers through her fur.

He was looking for insects or other things caught in her shiny black coat. He made a low hum.

"Not every silverback will do that, will pay attention to the infants," says biologist Jean Paul Hirwa. "That shows his personality. Pato is one chill³ silverback."

Hirwa made the comment in the forests of Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park while speaking to reporters from the Associated Press. He works for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a conservation nonprofit group.

Fossey, who died in 1985, would likely be surprised that there are any mountain gorillas left at all. Alarmed by rising rates of poaching and deforestation in central Africa, she predicted the animals could disappear by 2000.

Instead, a conservation campaign has given a second chance to these great apes, which share about 98 percent of their DNA⁴ with humans.

Increase in numbers

Last fall, the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature changed the threat level of mountain gorillas from "critically endangered" to "endangered."

It would not have happened without efforts that some biologists call "extreme conservation."

Extreme conservation involves monitoring every single gorilla in the rainforest and sometimes giving them veterinary care — to clean infected wounds, for example.

It also involves paying for forest protection by sending money into communities that might otherwise want to turn the forests into croplands.

The number of mountain gorillas has risen from 680 a decade ago to just over 1,000 today. Their population is split⁵ between two areas, including volcanoes within Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

"The population of mountain gorillas is still vulnerable⁶," says George Schaller, a biologist and gorilla expert. "But their numbers are now growing, and that's remarkable⁷."

Emergency medicine

Back in the forests of Volcanoes National Park, Hirwa noticed a wound on Pato's chest.

Most likely, he guessed, Pato had been struggling with the family's second silverback for control of the group.

Later, Hirwa reported the wound to the park chief and workers at Gorilla Doctors, a nongovernmental group whose veterinarians work in the forest.

The animal doctors watch for wounds and signs of lung infections, but they do not intervene⁸ often.

When they do — for example, by giving a gorilla antibiotic⁹ drugs — they almost never remove the animals from the mountain. Reuniting gorillas can be difficult.

"Our hospital is the forest," says Jean Bosco Noheli, a veterinarian with Gorilla Doctors. When his team goes into the field for a gorilla emergency, they must carry everything they might need in equipment bags weighing up to 100 pounds — including portable¹⁰ X-ray machines.

Tours and giving back to the community

Today, highly regulated¹² groups hike in the Rwandan rainforest to see the gorillas.

Within Volcanoes National Park, groups are limited to eight people at a time, with only an hour spent watching gorillas.

The groups cannot carry food or even water bottles near the animals. The reason: a silverback could take the objects and perhaps be exposed to germs.

Guides tell visitors not to hold eye contact with the gorillas for too long. And if a gorilla acts aggressively — which is rare — visitors are supposed to look down and bend their knees. Hirwa calls this the "submissive pose¹³."

The number of tourists each day is limited, and the price is high: $1,500 per visit.

"With tourism, the tension is always not to overexploit," says Dirck Byler. He is great ape conservation director at the nonprofit Global Wildlife Conservation. The group is not involved in the Rwanda gorilla project. Byler said, "In Rwanda, so far they're careful, and it's working."

In 2005, the Rwandan government adopted a plan to take five percent of tourism income from Volcanoes National Park. It used the money to help surrounding villages. Two years ago, that number increased to 10 percent.

So far, about $2 million has gone into paying for village projects, chief park warden¹⁴ Prosper¹⁵ Uwingeli says. "Every year, we meet with the communities," he says. "We have to give back."

Words in This Story

hum – n. a low continuous sound

chill – adj. informal : relaxed

poaching – n. the act of hunting or fish illegally

critically – adv. medical relating to or involving great danger of death

vulnerable –adj. able to be harmed, at risk

monitor – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time

reunite – v. to bring (people or things) together again especially after they have been apart for a long time

regulate¹¹ – v. to control or supervise¹⁶ something

submissive – adj. willing to obey someone else

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 chill   

vt.使变冷，使冷却，使沮丧；n.寒冷，风寒

参考例句：

• With the chill factor,it's nearly minus forty here.加上风寒指数，气温接近零下40度。
• The bad news cast a chill over the whole family.这坏消息使全家人感到沮丧。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

6 vulnerable   

adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，易受攻击的

参考例句：

• He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.她看上去很脆弱，他就主动去保护她。
• The company is in an economically vulnerable position.该公司目前经济状况不稳定。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 intervene   

vi.干涉，干预，干扰，阻挠

参考例句：

• When riot broke out,the police were obliged to intervene.发生暴乱时，警察有责任干预。
• You don't intervene between those two drunks.你不要在那两个酒鬼之间进行调解。

9 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

10 portable   

adj.轻便的，手提式的；n.便携的东西

参考例句：

• I have a portable typewriter.我有一个便携式打字机。
• There is a pretty portable pair of steps in one corner of the room.屋角放着一架小巧玲珑的折梯。

11 regulate   

vt.管理，控制，调节，调校，调整

参考例句：

• This system can regulate the temperature of the room.这种系统能调节室内温度。
• They regulate the flow of water by the sluice gate.他们用水闸门控制水的流量。

12 regulated   

控制( regulate的过去式和过去分词 )； 管理； 调整； 调节

参考例句：

• The activities of credit companies are regulated by law. 信贷公司的业务受法律的制约。
• A person's behavior is often regulated by his circumstances. 人的行为常受其所处环境的约束。

13 pose   

vt.造成，陈述；vi.摆姿势，装腔作势；n.姿势

参考例句：

• He sat in a relaxed pose.他轻松自如地坐着。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend.他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

14 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

15 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

16 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。