手机APP下载

您现在的位置: 首页 > 双语阅读 > 图文阅读 > 大千世界 > 正文

可悲! 非洲大象为自我保护而不再长象牙!

来源:爱语吧 编辑:max   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet

After centuries of being hunted by humans for ivory, African elephants are evolving to be tuskless.

在被人类猎杀以获取象牙几个世纪之后,如今非洲象正在进化成没有象牙的物种。
As National Geographic reports, the tusks on male elephants -- a sign of virility among the gentle giants -- are notably shrinking in size thanks to the effects of ivory poaching.
据《国家地理》报道,由于象牙偷猎的影响,雄性大象的象牙尺寸明显缩小,而象牙是这种温柔的庞然大物强壮的象征。
Meanwhile, more females are being born without their long, majestic front teeth than ever before, especially in places where the effects of the ivory trade have been particularly devastating.
与此同时,越来越多的母象出生后不再和以前一样长出长而威严的门牙,尤其是在受象牙贸易影响尤为严重的地区。

可悲! 非洲大象为自我保护而不再长象牙!

That's true in Mozambique, where 15 years of civil war were financed, in part, by the sale of illegal ivory.

在莫桑比克确实如此,象牙的非法销售给长达15年的内战提供了部分资金。
Of the female elephants that survived, many were naturally tuskless, which meant they evaded the deadly attention of hunters.
在幸存下来的母象中,许多天生就没有象牙,这意味着它们避开了猎人致命的关注。
Now, these remaining ladies are passing down the tuskless trait to a new generation of daughters.
现在,这些幸存的母象正在把这种无牙特性遗传给下一代的小母象。
Experts say that before the war, only 2 to 4 percent of girl calves would be born without their coveted front teeth, which are smaller than those of their male counterparts. Today, roughly a third of the females born after 1992 -- the year the war in Mozambique ended -- never developed any tusks at all.
专家们表示,战前,只有2%到4%的小母象出生时没有它们梦寐以求的门牙,它们的门牙要比同龄的雄性小。而如今,1992年莫桑比克战争结束后出生的雌象中,大约有三分之一从未长出象牙。
Sadly, there's little doubt that this development is a direct result of the human desire for ivory.
可悲的是,毫无疑问,这种情况是人类对象牙的渴望造成的直接结果。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
ivory ['aivəri]

想一想再看

n. 象牙,乳白色
adj. 象牙制的,

联想记忆
majestic [mə'dʒestik]

想一想再看

adj. 宏伟的,高贵的,壮丽的

 
illegal [i'li:gəl]

想一想再看

adj. 不合法的,非法的
n. 非法移民

联想记忆
gentle ['dʒentl]

想一想再看

adj. 温和的,轻柔的,文雅的,温顺的,出身名门的

 
devastating ['devəsteitiŋ]

想一想再看

adj. 毁灭性的,令人震惊的,强有力的

 
trait [treit]

想一想再看

n. 特点,特征,特性,一笔,少量

 

发布评论我来说2句

    最新文章

    可可英语官方微信(微信号:ikekenet)

    每天向大家推送短小精悍的英语学习资料.

    添加方式1.扫描上方可可官方微信二维码。
    添加方式2.搜索微信号ikekenet添加即可。