南非犀牛惨遭偷猎者捕杀

 　　2013 was a very bad year for South African rhinos² with almost 1,000 animals killed for their horns. That death toll³ is 50 percent higher than in 2012 - despite a more concerted international fight against poaching and an international trade ban that has been in place for decades.

　　2013年是南非犀牛惨遭噩运的一年。虽然国际社会加强了打击偷猎的协调行动，而且几十年来一直禁止买卖犀牛角，可是2013年几乎有1000头犀牛因为牛角而遭到屠杀，猎杀数量比2012年高出50%。

　　South Africa is home to more than 25,000 rhinos, roughly 80 percent of the world's rhinoceros⁴ population. But with their horns more valuable than gold in Asia markets, this ancient species is losing the fight against possible extinction⁵.

　　南非现有2万5千多头犀牛，占全世界犀牛总数的大约80%，可是因为犀牛角在亚洲市场上的价格比黄金还贵，这种古老的物种面临灭绝的危险。美国之音记者希姆金斯采访了南非的一个私人野生动物园，那里的专家们正在努力拯救犀牛。

　　"It's a national treasure for us [in South Africa]. That's why it is so important for us to protect these guys," said Park Ranger⁶ C.J. Lombard.

　　野生动物园工作人员隆巴德说：“这是大自然给我们国家的财富，因此保护犀牛非常重要。”

　　He and his tracker Patrick Moyane are out on another game drive looking for rhinoceros.

　　公园管理员隆巴德和他的同事帕特里克?莫亚尼正在公园里寻找犀牛。

　　"If you look carefully you can see the front toenail. One side toenail, the other side toenail and the heel of this male rhino¹," explained Lombard.

　　隆巴德说：“如果你仔细看，你能看出这是犀牛前蹄的脚趾印，这是一只雄性犀牛，这是脚趾的一边，这是另一边。”

　　In this private South African game park, part of the larger Kruger National Park, Lombard and Moyane not only track rhinos but search for poachers who want to kill the animals for their horns.

　　这个南非私人野生动物园是克鲁格国家公园的一部分，隆巴德和莫亚尼不仅跟踪犀牛，也负责调查那些为了犀牛角而猎杀犀牛的偷猎者。

　　During this game viewing excursion, they come across a pair of rare black rhinos, one of the world's most endangered animals.

　　在公园里巡视期间，他们发现了两只稀有的黑犀牛，那是世界上一级濒危动物。

　　"This is such an amazing and beautiful moment knowing the history and everything that's got to do with rhino poaching," noted⁷ Lombard. "And yet here's this beautiful black rhino mommy with her calf⁸."

　　隆巴德说：“了解犀牛的历史和所有有关偷猎的问题是一件奇妙事，这里却有一头美丽的黑犀牛妈妈和她的小牛犊。”

　　Lombard said this sighting is a positive sign amid an anti-poaching fight that gets tougher all the time.

　　隆巴德说，虽然反偷猎工作越来越艰难，可是这两头犀牛的存在是一个乐观的迹象。

　　"It’s an ongoing⁹ war and you need to constantly be ahead of these guys [poachers] and coming up with new ideas and new techniques," he said. "It is becoming very much modernized¹⁰ in the ways of trying to stop these guys from poaching our rhino's."

　　隆巴德说：“这是一场持续的战争，你必须始终抢在偷猎者之前，拿出新主意、新方法，制止这些人偷猎我们的犀牛需要非常现代化的手段。”

　　The Kruger Park area has been the hardest hit by poaching yet this private reserve hasn’t lost a single animal. Staff here credits their policy of injecting poison into the horns. It doesn't harm the rhinos but makes their horns unsuitable for human consumption.

　　克鲁格公园是偷猎最严重的地区，可是这个私人保护区却从来没有丢失过一头动物。这里的工作人员把成绩归功于向犀牛角里注射毒药的政策，这种方法不会伤害犀牛，可是却让人类无法食用。

　　The measure is designed to curb¹¹ a thriving black market for rhino horns in Asian countries where they are believed to have some traditional medicinal value. Despite the fact that rhino horn is little more than protein similar to that of human hair or nails, it can fetch about $60,000 per kilo.

　　采取这个方法是为了遏制亚洲国家繁荣的犀牛角黑市，亚洲人认为犀牛角有传统药用价值。虽然事实上犀牛角只含有类似人类头发和指甲中的蛋白质而已，可是它的售价却达到每公斤6万美元。

　　That is powerful incentive¹² for poachers, who are becoming increasingly organized, well-armed and bold.

　　这就给了偷猎者巨大的动力，偷猎者越来越有组织和大胆，装备也越来越强。

　　The mission of protecting the rhino is personal for Moyane who grew up in this area.

　　对在这个地区长大的莫亚尼来说，保护犀牛是一项个人使命。

　　"I want to see all of these animals alive. If they disappear then we will be left with just saying there was a rhino like this and the next generation will never know they will just see them in books," said Moyane.

　　野生动物园工作人员帕特里克?莫亚尼说：“我要看着这些动物活下去，如果他们消失了，那我们只能说，这里曾经有犀牛，就像这样，我们的下一代将再也看不到犀牛，他们只能在书本上看到。”

　　Despite a variety of anti-poaching measures - which include public awareness¹³ campaigns both in Africa and Asia - chief park ranger Juan Pinto said the rhino is still sliding towards extinction in many other locations.

　　园林警察局长胡安?平托说，虽然有关方面采取了各种各样的反偷猎措施，包括提高非洲和亚洲的公众意识，可是在很多地区，犀牛还是趋向灭绝。

　　"There needs to be political, international and government influence that needs to come into play from multiple countries that want to try and stop this," he said. "It is not going to be stopped from a ground root level only."

　　园林警察局长胡安?平托说：“禁止偷猎需要很多有意愿的国家一起努力，发挥政治、国际和政府的影响力，光靠基层是不能制止偷猎的。”

　　The game rangers¹⁴ and trackers here say they'll do everything they can to protect the rhino for future generations to enjoy. But they say if rhino poaching doesn't stop, these majestic¹⁵ mammals will be lost forever.

　　这里的园林警察和动物保护员说，他们会尽一切努力为后代保护犀牛，可是他们说，如果不制止偷猎犀牛，这些雄伟的动物将会永远的消失。(voanews)

1 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

2 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

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

9 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。

10 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

11 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。

12 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

13 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

14 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

15 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。