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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
A drop in tourism during the coronavirus crisis1 is making it more difficult for some organizations to protect threatened wildlife in Africa.
Wildlife officials fear poaching activity will rise because the collapse2 of the travel industry leaves less money for guarding animals.
In Kenya, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy project is home to more than 130 black rhinos4. It forms the single largest group of the animals in East and Central Africa.
"We are more alert5 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).
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.
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.
However, Ol Pejeta's director, Richard Vigne, said enforcement measures are very costly6. He said he spends about $10,000 each year for every rhino3 to pay for the protection.
"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 revenue7 comes from tourism...it's a complete disaster." COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The conservancy expects to lose $3 to $4 million this year. Vigne said the loss severely8 limits the group's ability to protect the rhinos.
Wildlife activists9 across Africa are now waiting to see how poachers will react to the current situation, and whether more rare wildlife will be killed.
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.
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.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
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
1 crisis | |
n.危机,危急关头,决定性时刻,关键阶段 | |
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2 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
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3 rhino | |
n.犀牛,钱, 现金 | |
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4 rhinos | |
n.犀牛(rhino的复数形式) | |
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5 alert | |
adj.机警的,活泼的,机灵的;vt.使...警觉 | |
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6 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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7 revenue | |
n.总收入,财政收入,税收;税务局 | |
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8 severely | |
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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9 activists | |
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 ) | |
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