VOA慢速英語：全球半數(shù)以上靈長類動物即將滅絕

More than Half of the World’s Primates Disappearing

全球半數(shù)以上靈長類動物即將滅絕

Scientists who study primates say that we are moving towards a time when species like gorillas will no longer be found in the wild.

研究靈長類動物的科學(xué)家表示，我們正朝著野外再也找不到大猩猩等物種的這樣一個時代邁進(jìn)。

They say Orangutans would be gone too. And Madagascar would lose its lemurs.

他們表示，猩猩也會消失，馬達(dá)加斯加的狐猴也會消失。

Jo Setchell is a primatologist at Durham University in Britain. She studies primates, the group of mammals that includes gorillas, chimps, monkeys, gibbons, mandrills, and lemurs. And, of course, humans.

喬·撒切爾(Jo Setchell)是英國達(dá)勒姆大學(xué)的靈長類動物學(xué)家。她研究靈長類動物，這類哺乳動物包括大猩猩、黑猩猩、猴子、長臂猿、狒狒、狐猴，當(dāng)然還有人類。

"So If we have 60 percent threatened with extinction at the moment, then we will see that number rise and within our lifetimes, within our children's lifetimes, we will eradicate other primates."

“如果靈長類動物現(xiàn)在瀕臨滅絕的風(fēng)險是60%，那么我們就會看到這個數(shù)字增長。而在我們的有生之年，在我們孩子的有生之年，其它靈長類動物就會滅絕。”

In all, there are an estimated 600 different species of primates. They include the little creature called the mouse lemur, whose body is only about six centimeters long. Then, there is the largest of the species, the gorilla, weighing up to 250 kilograms.

地球上預(yù)計共有600種不同的靈長類動物。它們包括身長只有6厘米的小嘴狐猴這種小生物，還有重達(dá)250公斤的大猩猩這種最大的物種。

Primates face one common threat: loss of habitat, the places in nature where they live. Primatologists like Setchell say human activity is to blame.

靈長類動物面臨一個共同的威脅：喪失棲息地，也就是它們在大自然中的棲身之處。撒切爾等靈長類動物學(xué)家稱人類活動就是罪魁惡首。

"... the major problem is habitat loss and habitat conversion, and essentially it's humans changing primate habitat into human habitat - logging for timber, logging for conversion to agriculture, logging for cattle ranching; anything essentially that destroys tropical forests because primates are largely tropical forest species."

“主要問題是棲息地喪失和轉(zhuǎn)變，基本上是由于人類將靈長類棲息地變?yōu)槿祟悧⒌?-伐木取材、毀掉林地轉(zhuǎn)為耕地和牧場?；旧隙际瞧茐臒釒в炅?，因為靈長類動物主要生活在熱帶雨林。”

More than half of all primate species are grouped in four countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

一半以上的靈長類動物分布在巴西、印尼、馬達(dá)加斯加以及剛果民主共和國這四個國家。

Paul Garber says each of these countries is working to help protect the primates in their areas. "But often, there is neither the funds, community support nor in-country expertise to address their conservation problems."

保羅·加伯(Paul Garber)表示，這幾個國家都在努力保護(hù)境內(nèi)的靈長類動物。“但是通常他們既沒有資金和社區(qū)支持，他們國內(nèi)也沒有解決他們自然環(huán)境保護(hù)問題的專業(yè)知識。”

Madagascar is a good example of these problems, he says. It is home to over 100 primate species; almost all of them live nowhere else. And 94 percent of them are endangered. Ninety percent of the original forests of Madagascar have been cut down, Garber says.

他說，馬達(dá)加斯加就是一個很好的例子。該國有100種靈長類動物，它們幾乎無處可去。而其中94%是瀕危物種。加伯表示，馬達(dá)加斯加90%的原始森林都被砍伐了。

Neither Garber nor Setchell have any easy answers about how to stop this road to extinction.

加伯和撒切爾對如何阻止這條滅絕之路都沒有任何好的辦法。

"We knew that primates were in trouble, but I think even for those of us who work in primate conservation, it was still shocking to discover quite what the scale of the problem is."

“我們知道靈長類動物遇到了麻煩，但是我認(rèn)為，即使是從事靈長類動物保護(hù)的工作人員，發(fā)現(xiàn)這一問題的嚴(yán)重程度也會非常驚訝。”

They do say that the clearest way is to slow human activity in primates' habitats. They also say the decrease is reversible if humans make primate and habitat conservation a top concern.

他們表示，最明顯的辦法就是減緩人類在靈長類棲息地的活動。他們還表示，如果人類將靈長類動物及棲息地保護(hù)作為首要考慮，靈長類動物規(guī)模的減少就可以逆轉(zhuǎn)。

I'm Anne Ball.

安妮·波爾報道。