VOA常速英语2013--南非环保人士以毒制恶拯救犀牛（在线收听）

South African Conservationists Use Poison to Save Rhinos 南非环保人士以毒制恶拯救犀牛

WASHINGTON, D.C. — 

South Africa – home to most of the world’s rhinoceros - continues to struggle with effective means to curb poaching, which has reached alarming rates in recent years. Government and private game reserves are employing a variety of methods, including armed patrols and cutting off Rhino horns or poisoning them to make them worthless on the black market. Several hundred rhino horns have been injected with poison so far this year, in the hopes that it will make some difference in the fight to save the animal from extinction

Rhinos are targeted primarily for their horns, which can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars on the black market in Asia.

偷猎者们主要觊觎犀牛的是在亚洲黑市可以卖到几万美元的角。

The ground up horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine, while the eyes and the tail are sometimes used in witchcraft.

碾成粉的角可以用于中药,而眼睛和尾巴有时则用于巫术。

Graham Shipway, the general manager of a lodge in the Plumari Africa Game Reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa, has found at least two dead rhinos in recent weeks.

南非约翰内斯堡附近普拉玛丽非洲狩猎保护区总经理格雷厄姆·希普维最近几周已经发现发现了至少两头死去的犀牛。

"A heavy caliber bullet.

“这是偷猎者们使用的大口径子弹。

They hacked off her horn… gouged out her eyes… and they cut off her tail.

他们砍下她的角…剜出眼睛…之后切断了尾巴。

All for two kilograms of horn," said Shipway, discussing one of the dead rhinos he found.

一共两公斤的角,“希普维观察一头已经死亡的犀牛时说道。

It is estimated that nearly 800 rhinos have been poached in South Africa so far this year-more than 3 percent of the country's total rhino population.

到目前为止今年据估计南非近800头犀牛已经惨遭猎杀,占全国犀牛总数的3%以上。

Game farm owners have been hiring armed security guards to patrol their reserves, which can be a dangerous job.

农场主人一直雇佣武装保安巡逻他们的保护区,这可是份危险的工作。

Now, they are trying a new tactic: they poison the rhinos' horns.

现在,他们正在尝试一种新的方式:就是给犀牛角下毒。

The rhino is injected with an anaesthetic, so that it's paralyzed but conscious.

犀牛被注射麻醉剂,虽然瘫痪但仍然有意识。

Then a hole is drilled into its horn, which is injected with a poison that's dyed red.

然后在它的角处钻开一个孔注射染红的毒药。

Conservationist Lorinda Hern says the substance is safe for rhinos, but harmful to humans who ingest it.

生态环境保护者罗琳达·赫恩称这种物质对犀牛无害,但却能够对妄图夺取它的人类造成伤害。

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, nerve damage and even death in extreme cases.

症状包括恶心、呕吐、腹泻、神经损害而且极端情况下甚至致死。

"If you buy a horn and it's a red kind of color, you obviously know that it's been tampered with and that it's not safe for human consumption.

“如果你购买了一只角是这种红色的,你显然就清楚这被动过手脚,而且人类食用不安全。

So, yeah, 60,000 U.S. dollars per kilo versus zero," said Hern, showing how the poison changes the horn's hue.

所以,是的, 每公斤60000美元转瞬间化为泡影,” 赫恩说道，展示这种毒药对于犀牛角色调的变化。

Once the procedure is complete, the rhino wakes up groggy but unharmed.

注射毒药只要完成，犀牛就会昏昏沉沉的醒来但却安然无恙。

"It is a little bit sore, hard sore, but I'm happy in the fact that I now know that she is potentially very, very safe," said Shipway.

“这会有点酸痛,硬酸,但我很高兴,事实上,我现在知道,她可能已经非常安全了。”希普维说道。

Conservationists hope to save hundreds of rhinos each year by making their horns worthless to poachers.

环保人士希望通过这种以毒制恶的方式每年拯救数以百计的犀牛。