2022年12月17日 VOA慢速英语：肯尼亚干旱导致数百只野生动物死亡

Officials in Kenya say severe drought conditions in a northern area have killed hundreds of wild animals in recent months. Many animals that do survive are starving and weak. They often come in contact with people while searching for food.
肯尼亚官员表示，近几个月来，北部地区的严重干旱已导致数百只野生动物死亡。许多幸存下来的动物都在挨饿和虚弱。他们经常在寻找食物时与人接触。

Kenya's Samburu county has experienced a lack of rain for the past four years. This has caused some of the severest dry conditions in 40 years. Experts say the effects of climate change have worsened the problem.
肯尼亚的桑布鲁县在过去四年里一直没有下雨。这造成了 40 年来最严重的干旱状况。专家表示，气候变化的影响加剧了这一问题。
 
Officials say drought has killed at least 200 elephants, nearly 400 common zebras and more than 500 wildebeests over the past nine months. A number of other species have also been affected.
官员们说，在过去九个月里，干旱已经造成至少 200 头大象、近 400 头普通斑马和 500 多头角马死亡。许多其他物种也受到影响。

Kenya's government has provided some emergency supplies such as water, grasses and mineral salts to help the animals. But many creatures are still found moving into areas where people live as they search for food and water.
肯尼亚政府提供了一些紧急物资，例如水、草和矿物盐来帮助这些动物。但仍有许多生物在人们寻找食物和水的过程中迁入人们居住的地区。

David Lepeenoi is a 54-year-old who lives in Samburu. He told The Associated Press that elephants seem to be drawn to the trees he planted on his property. "The trees and water points are the main source of conflict between elephants and the community," he said.
David Lepeenoi 是一名 54 岁的老人，住在桑布鲁。他告诉美联社，大象似乎被他种在自家土地上的树木所吸引。 “树木和供水点是大象与社区之间冲突的主要原因，”他说。
 
Climate change and poor conservation methods have harmed protected land areas and national parks in recent years.
近年来，气候变化和糟糕的保护方法已经损害了保护区和国家公园。

"Where we have reported cases of wildlife dying, it is not actually within the parks," said Jim Nyamu. He helps run the Elephant Neighbors Center, a nonprofit group that seeks to protect elephants and their surroundings.
“在我们报告野生动物死亡案例的地方，实际上并不在公园内，”Jim Nyamu 说。他帮助运营大象邻居中心，这是一个旨在保护大象及其周围环境的非营利组织。

Nyamu said the fact that wildlife are not dying in parks suggests they were looking for food in established areas that have been blocked by human activities.
Nyamu 说，野生动物没有在公园里死亡这一事实表明，它们正在已建立的区域寻找食物被人类活动所阻挡。
 
 
Records from the conservation group BirdLife Africa show that many birds are also dying in northern Kenya, most likely from starvation.
保护组织 BirdLife Africa 的记录显示，许多鸟类也在肯尼亚北部死亡，很可能死于饥饿。

The group's Alex Ngari said the remains of migratory birds, such as the European Roller, can be seen across expanses of the very dry land. Over 300 bird species on the continent are already considered threatened or critically endangered.
该组织的 Alex Ngari 说，候鸟的遗骸，例如欧洲罗勒，可能是在非常干燥的土地上看到广阔的土地。非洲大陆上的 300 多种鸟类已被认为受到威胁或极度濒危。

The drought has also greatly harmed communities and has led to lost income, livestock deaths and failed crops. Farmers have started taking down dried trees to produce and sell charcoal to earn money.
干旱还极大地损害了社区，并导致收入损失、牲畜死亡和农作物歉收。农民们开始砍伐干枯的树木来生产和销售木炭来赚钱。
 
This has added to environmental problems in the area, said Paul Gacheru, from the conservation group Nature Kenya. He told the AP an organized effort is needed to support local communities in efforts to reduce the effects of climate change. Gacheru said local people need to find less destructive ways to live with the warmer, drier climate.
保护组织 Nature Kenya 的 Paul Gacheru 说，这加剧了该地区的环境问题。他告诉美联社，需要有组织的努力来支持当地社区努力减少气候变化的影响。 Gacheru 说，当地人需要找到破坏性较小的方式来适应更温暖、更干燥的气候。

In Samburu, conservation groups say they are doing what they can as natural resources dry up. At one elephant sanctuary, workers say about 30 of 40 young animals were rescued from the extreme dry conditions.
在桑布鲁，保护组织表示，随着自然资源枯竭，他们正在尽其所能。在一个大象保护区，工作人员说 40 只小动物中有大约 30 只从极端干燥的环境中获救。

Along with the risk of starvation, drought can cause drops in immunity that can cause infections in the animals, said vet Isaiah Alolo. He works at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, which is part of the nearby Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy.
除了饥饿的风险外，干旱还会导致免疫力下降，从而导致动物感染，兽医 Isaiah Alolo 说。他在 Reteti Elephant Sanctuary 工作，该保护区隶属于附近的 Namunyak 野生动物保护区。
 
"In most cases, you find that the animal will die," Alolo said. This leads to many orphaned animals that need to be rescued. "That brings a lot of pressure" for those working to conserve species, he added.
“在大多数情况下，你会发现动物会死去，”Alolo 说。这导致许多需要救助的孤儿动物。他补充说，“这给那些致力于保护物种的人带来了很大的压力”。

Workers at the Reteti sanctuary bring food and other nutritional products from about 50 kilometers away near Mount Kenya, sanctuary caregiver Dorothy Lowakutuk said. That area is also at risk of more environmental damage if the drought continues.
Reteti 保护区的工作人员从 50 公里外的肯尼亚山附近带来食物和其他营养产品，保护区护理人员 Dorothy Lowakutuk说。如果干旱持续，该地区也面临遭受更多环境破坏的风险。

"At least we ensure our elephants are recovering what they don't get in their natural habitat," Lowakutuk said.
“至少我们确保我们的大象正在恢复它们在自然栖息地无法获得的东西，”Lowakutuk 说。