时代周刊:动物危机(1)

South Africa's game parks risk going under. So do their animals.

南非的狩猎公园面临危机，那里的动物也是如此。

On March 26, The day south Africa closed its borders to help curb¹ the spread of COVID-19, Kayla Wilkens thought of only one thing: How was she going to feed the elephants?

3月26日，也就是南非为了抑制新冠的传播而关闭边境的那一天。在这一天，凯拉·威尔肯斯只想着一件事：以后大象怎么喂？

Wilkens, the general manager of the privately² owned Fairy Glen safari³ resort, about 71 miles outside of Cape⁴ Town, knew that the park's budget depended on tourism. Without that income, taking care of the lions, rhinos⁵, zebras and antelope⁶ that populate the 1,235-acre reserve would be difficult. That night, Wilkens sat down with her partner and Fairy Glen owner, Pieter De Jager, to map out the future. If they gave up their own salaries, laid off all but two of their 30 staff, stopped security patrols and put off repairs, they figured they just might make it for a couple of months. After that, though, they would have to prepare for the worst.

威尔肯斯是一家私营的名为“仙女谷”的狩猎度假村的总经理，该度假村位于开普敦城外约71英里(约合71公里)的地方。威尔肯斯知道公园的收入依靠旅游业，没有了这笔收入，要照顾这片1235英亩的公园里的狮子、犀牛、斑马和羚羊将会非常困难。当晚，威尔肯斯和她的老公，即仙女谷的所有者彼得·德·雅格坐下来对未来做一个规划。如果他们放弃自己的收入，解雇30名员工中的28名，不再进行安全巡逻并推迟维修，那么他们只能再维持几个月的时间。不过，几个月之后他们就不得不做最坏的打算了。

"We had to force ourselves to think about maybe having to put down our animals rather than let them starve to death," she says, her voice cracking at the thought. "We can't just put them outside and expect them to look after themselves."

“我们必须强迫自己去思考，我们应该杀死我们的动物，而不是让它们饿死。”说到这里，她的声音嘶哑了。“我们不能把它们放在外面，指望它们能自己照顾自己。”

The elephants, rhinos, buffalo⁷, lions and leopards⁸ that make up the classic safari "Big Five" checklist may be wild animals, but in South Africa's private game reserves, at least, the illusion of wilderness⁹ is built upon a scaffold of costly¹⁰ maintenance. Private reserves here spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to buy, feed, breed, care for and protect their animals, money that is recouped through safari drives and luxury accommodations. It is a privatized form of conservation that not only keeps endangered species alive but also guards vast tracts¹¹ of biodiverse wilderness from development. The collapse¹² in tourism during the coronavirus pandemic has brought many of South Africa's 500 or so private game parks to their knees, according to a survey by a tourism agency in the Kruger Lowveld district.

大象、犀牛、水牛、狮子和豹子组成了经典的“五大野生动物”清单，但至少在南非的私人禁猎区，荒野的假象是建立在昂贵的维护基础之上的。这里的私人保护区每年要花费数十万美元购买、喂养、繁殖、照料和保护那里的动物，这些钱会通过狩猎活动和豪华住宿来收回。这是一种私有化的保护形式，这样不仅能够使得濒危物种得以存活，同时还保护了大片具备生物多样性的荒野不被开发。克鲁格洛维尔德地区一家旅游机构的调查显示，南非有约500家私人狩猎公园，而新冠防控期间旅游业的陷落已经让其中很多家陷入了困境。

Africa's great national parks are also at risk. Animals always live off the land in South Africa's giant Kruger park, and the even wilder Masai Mara of Kenya and Tanzania's Serengeti. African governments have long resisted pressure to otherwise exploit such areas because conservation and tourism promised to be even more long-lasting and lucrative¹³, worth approximately $71 billion a year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Now, with safaris¹⁴ at a standstill, funding for both private and public reserves is drying up, even as they face the ongoing¹⁵ expense of keeping their animals alive.

非洲最大的国家公园也面临危机。动物们一直以南非巨大的克鲁格公园、肯尼亚更为荒凉的马赛马拉和坦桑尼亚的塞伦盖蒂的土地为食。长期以来，非洲各国政府一直拒绝对此类地区进行其他开发，因为靠保护和旅游业所获利润有望更持久且更丰厚，据世界旅游和旅游理事会称，每年的利润高达710亿美元。如今，由于狩猎活动停滞不前，他们面临的不仅仅是维持动物生存的持续性开支，整个私人和公共保护区的资金都在枯竭。

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

3 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

4 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

5 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

6 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

8 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

9 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

12 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

13 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。

14 safaris   

n.游猎，陆路旅行（尤指在东非或中非）( safari的名词复数 )；类似游猎的假日旅行

参考例句：

• I've had too many safaris with rich dentists to listen to any more suicidal ideas. 我已经带过太多有钱牙科医生的狩猎队，我不能再听取任何自杀性建议了。 来自电影对白
• Camel diving safaris are a popular attraction in South Sinai. 骆驼的潜水之旅是南西奈一个受欢迎的景观。 来自互联网

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。