时代周刊:动物危机(2)（在线收听）

"Spending by safari tourists is the single biggest funder of conservation in Africa," says Kenya-based conservationist Max Graham, the founder of Space for Giants, an international charity that protects Africa's elephants and their landscapes. "Because of COVID, that money has disappeared." In the short term that means that veterinary care, endangered-species-rehabilitation programs and community-education efforts have been curtailed.

马克斯·格雷厄姆是一家保护非洲大象及非洲景观的国际慈善机构“巨人空间”的创始人，同时也是肯尼亚的自然资源保护主义者，他说：“游猎游客的花费是非洲自然保护基金最主要的收入来源，但是受新冠的影响，这笔收入没了。”其短期影响就是，兽医护理、濒危物种康复计划以及社区教育努力都将被缩减。

But if tourism numbers don't pick up quickly, the temptation will be to convert some of Africa's 8,400 protected areas into more immediately lucrative enterprises, such as oil extraction, logging or mining. The welfare of some of Africa's most threatened species will be at risk.

假若游客量无法迅速回升，那么将非洲8400个受保护的地区中的一些转化为可以迅速获利的公司(比如石油开采、伐木或采矿)将变得极具诱惑，如此一来非洲的一些最受威胁物种的福利将面临危机。

Nowhere is that more visible than in the small private game reserves that make up the bulk of South Africa's tourism industry, which indirectly employs some 1.5 million people and contributes 7% of the country's GDP.

这一点在小型私人狩猎保护区表现最为明显，这些保护区是南非旅游业的主要组成部分，间接雇用了150万人，贡献了南非7%的GDP。

When De Jager decided to convert his family's dairy farm to a nature reserve 20 years ago, his idea was to reintroduce the rhinos, elephants and lions that once roamed South Africa's Western Cape. He wanted to preserve as well as educate: Fairy Glen has been a regular stop for school groups from the area. But 90% of the paying visitors come from abroad, and they cover 100% of the reserve's running costs, which amount to approximately $30,000 a month, Wilkens says.

20年前，当德雅格决定将自家的奶牛场改造成自然保护区时，他的想法是重新引入曾经在南非的西开普省游荡的犀牛、大象和狮子。他既想保护森林，又想教育人们：仙女谷是该地区学校团体的固定停留地。威尔肯斯称，90%的付费游客来自国外，他们承担了保护区每月约3万美元的全部的运营成本。

So far, she has been able to stave off her worstcase scenario. Unusually heavy rains mean there has been enough forage to feed the browsing animals. And when a couple of the antelopes died in a bad storm, Wilkens was able to feed the carcasses to the lions. But cutting staff and security patrols has had consequences. On the night of July 27, one of the reserve's rhinos went missing. After a thorough search, she concluded it must have been stolen or poached. The experience has left her shaken: "I can't help but feel like we let our animals down because we couldn't provide the security they needed because of a loss of income."

到目前为止，她已经能够避免出现最糟糕的情况。意外的暴雨说明他们能够有足够的饲料来喂养那些以草为食的动物。在一场风暴中死亡的几只羚羊的尸体也被用来喂食狮子。不过，裁员和取消安全巡逻带来了后果。7月27日晚，保护区的一头犀牛失踪。经过彻底搜查，她断定犀牛一定是跑了或者被偷猎了。该事件让她极为震惊，她说：“我觉得是我们让动物们失望了，因为没有了收入，我们无法再为它们提供所需的安全。”

Overall, poaching for animal parts such as rhino, horn, and elephant tusk has declined in African game reserves over the COVID period, as it's harder for criminals to sell the products. But conservation organizations say killing wild and endangered animals for their meat, so-called bushmeat poaching, is on the rise. That spike, says Graham of Space for Giants, is largely due to the collapse of wildlife tourism. When guides, rangers and resort employees no longer have the income to buy food, some will have no choice but to turn to hunting in the areas they once protected. Wilkens, at Fairy Glen, suspects some of her antelope may have ended up as someone's dinner. "It's devastating for us," she says, "but it is also understandable. They have children to feed. If I were in the same position, I most probably would do the same."

总之，由于销路不好，新冠期间在非洲野生动物保护区偷猎犀牛、角和象牙等动物部位的行为有所减少。但是，保护组织称将野生和濒危动物杀死用来自食的现象在增多。来自“巨人空间”的格雷厄姆称这种激增在很大程度上源于野生动物旅游业的陷落。当导游、护林员和度假村雇员没有收入购买食物时，别无选择的他们只能在自己曾经保护的地区进行狩猎。精灵谷的威尔金斯怀疑自家的一些羚羊最后可能成了某人的晚餐。她说：“这对我们来说是毁灭性的打击，不过我们也能理解，毕竟他们有孩子要养，如果我和他们一样，我也有可能做出同样的选择。”