2022年12月17日 VOA慢速英語：肯尼亞干旱導致數百只野生動物死亡

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.
肯尼亞官員表示，近幾個月來，北部地區(qū)的嚴重干旱已導致數百只野生動物死亡。許多幸存下來的動物都在挨餓和虛弱。他們經常在尋找食物時與人接觸。

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.
肯尼亞的桑布魯縣在過去四年里一直沒有下雨。這造成了 40 年來最嚴重的干旱狀況。專家表示，氣候變化的影響加劇了這一問題。
 
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.
官員們說，在過去九個月里，干旱已經造成至少 200 頭大象、近 400 頭普通斑馬和 500 多頭角馬死亡。許多其他物種也受到影響。

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.
肯尼亞政府提供了一些緊急物資，例如水、草和礦物鹽來幫助這些動物。但仍有許多生物在人們尋找食物和水的過程中遷入人們居住的地區(qū)。

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 歲的老人，住在桑布魯。他告訴美聯(lián)社，大象似乎被他種在自家土地上的樹木所吸引。 “樹木和供水點是大象與社區(qū)之間沖突的主要原因，”他說。
 
Climate change and poor conservation methods have harmed protected land areas and national parks in recent years.
近年來，氣候變化和糟糕的保護方法已經損害了保護區(qū)和國家公園。

"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.
“在我們報告野生動物死亡案例的地方，實際上并不在公園內，”Jim Nyamu 說。他幫助運營大象鄰居中心，這是一個旨在保護大象及其周圍環(huán)境的非營利組織。

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 說，野生動物沒有在公園里死亡這一事實表明，它們正在已建立的區(qū)域尋找食物被人類活動所阻擋。
 
 
Records from the conservation group BirdLife Africa show that many birds are also dying in northern Kenya, most likely from starvation.
保護組織 BirdLife Africa 的記錄顯示，許多鳥類也在肯尼亞北部死亡，很可能死于饑餓。

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.
該組織的 Alex Ngari 說，候鳥的遺骸，例如歐洲羅勒，可能是在非常干燥的土地上看到廣闊的土地。非洲大陸上的 300 多種鳥類已被認為受到威脅或極度瀕危。

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.
干旱還極大地損害了社區(qū)，并導致收入損失、牲畜死亡和農作物歉收。農民們開始砍伐干枯的樹木來生產和銷售木炭來賺錢。
 
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.
保護組織 Nature Kenya 的 Paul Gacheru 說，這加劇了該地區(qū)的環(huán)境問題。他告訴美聯(lián)社，需要有組織的努力來支持當地社區(qū)努力減少氣候變化的影響。 Gacheru 說，當地人需要找到破壞性較小的方式來適應更溫暖、更干燥的氣候。

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.
在桑布魯，保護組織表示，隨著自然資源枯竭，他們正在盡其所能。在一個大象保護區(qū)，工作人員說 40 只小動物中有大約 30 只從極端干燥的環(huán)境中獲救。

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.
除了饑餓的風險外，干旱還會導致免疫力下降，從而導致動物感染，獸醫(yī) Isaiah Alolo 說。他在 Reteti Elephant Sanctuary 工作，該保護區(qū)隸屬于附近的 Namunyak 野生動物保護區(qū)。
 
"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.
“在大多數情況下，你會發(fā)現動物會死去，”Alolo 說。這導致許多需要救助的孤兒動物。他補充說，“這給那些致力于保護物種的人帶來了很大的壓力”。

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 保護區(qū)的工作人員從 50 公里外的肯尼亞山附近帶來食物和其他營養(yǎng)產品，保護區(qū)護理人員 Dorothy Lowakutuk說。如果干旱持續(xù)，該地區(qū)也面臨遭受更多環(huán)境破壞的風險。

"At least we ensure our elephants are recovering what they don't get in their natural habitat," Lowakutuk said.
“至少我們確保我們的大象正在恢復它們在自然棲息地無法獲得的東西，”Lowakutuk 說。