Africa’s endangered elephants 非洲象被列為瀕危物種

本集內容

學習要點

有關 “threats and warnings（威脅與警示）” 的詞匯

邊看邊答

Which type of elephant has now been put onto the critically endangered list?

文字稿

The largest land animals on Earth. But their size has not protected them from the impacts of poaching or from the continued destruction of the vast swathes of interconnected habitat they need.

它們是地球上最大的陸生動物。但龐大的體型並不能保護它們免受偷獵的影響，也不能保護它們大片相互依存的棲息地免遭持續的破壞，這是它們生存所需的傢園。

This latest Red List of Threatened Species – considered to be the comprehensive report on how nature is faring on an increasingly crowded planet – puts Africa’s savanna elephants into the endangered category.

世界自然保護聯盟制定的瀕危物種紅色名錄，被認為是反映日益擁擠的地球上，自然界生存現狀的詳盡報告，最新公佈的名錄將非洲草原象列為瀕危物種。

Forest elephants are now even closer to extinction – critically endangered.

非洲森林象現在更臨近滅絕，被列為極度瀕危物種。

Across Africa there are now just over 400,000 wild elephants. And this latest examination of decades of census data and habitat surveys has shown the demand for ivory still drives the decline in their numbers.

整個非洲目前隻有40多萬頭野生大象。這項對數十年以來動物普查數據和棲息地調查的最新研究表明，對象牙的需求仍然是大象數量下降的驅動因素。

The level of threat they faced had also been masked by the fact that the African elephant was previously thought to be a single species. This is the first time that savanna and forest elephant [have] been assessed separately.

之前人們沒有認清非洲象所面臨的威脅程度，這是因為非洲象曾被誤認為是單一物種。這是首次對草原象和森林象進行單獨評估。

Victoria Gill, AYYBLOG correspondent
What does it mean practically to have this information about their status? How do you use that to protect these animals and reverse these declines?

維多利亞·吉爾 AYYBLOG通訊員
“知道這兩種非洲象的現狀有什麼實際意義？如何利用這個信息來保護非洲象，並扭轉它們數量下降的趨勢？”

Dr Isla Duporge, University of Oxford
While on the surface of it it looks bleak, the fact that it’s been flagged is actually positive, because then it means we can do something about it. And, separating the species, I think that’s also positive because it means we can do something about it on a more concentrated level.

艾拉·杜波什博士英國牛津大學
“雖然從表面上看來，前景不容樂觀，但這件事情被提出來反而是好事，因為這意味著我們能對此采取行動。同時，我認為單獨評估兩種非洲象物種也是好事，因為這意味著我們能集中力量，采取行動。”

The loss of species and natural spaces is happening all around the world. But conservationists are confident that this wake-up call could ensure that these giant icons of African wildlife get the protection and the space that they need.

在世界各地，物種和自然空間都在消失。但環境保護工作者們相信，非洲象瀕危所敲響的警鐘能確保這些象征著非洲野生動物的龐大物種得到它們所需要的保護和生存空間。