VOA标准英语 New Study Shows Animal Population Drop in Kenya Park

According to a new study, the populations of several animal species in Kenya's most famous wildlife park have declined dramatically during the past 15 years. The study's authors point to the growing presence of human settlements on the outskirts¹ of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
　
A lion in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve (2008 photo)

The study, conducted by the International Livestock² Research Institute in Nairobi, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, monitored the population of six animal species each month between 1989 and 2003. The declines in the Maasai Mara National Reserve were dramatic, with the population of giraffes dropping by 95 percent, warthogs by 85 percent, and impala by 67 percent.

According to lead author Joseph Ogutu, similar trends have been observed for most other species in the Maasai Mara, which lies along Kenya's southern border with Tanzania. Only elephants and ostriches³ have escaped the pattern.

Ogutu says the phenomenon can be seen in other Kenyan wildlife parks as well. He also says the rate of decline has increased over the years, and is unlikely to have abated⁴ since the observation was concluded in 2003.

"The underlying⁵ factors which are causing this decline, like the land use change have become much more intense over time, so the human population is increasing there and the need for space to build more settlements for people and intensification⁶ of how people use the land," said Joseph Ogutu. "The trend must have continued up till now."

According to the researchers, the decline can be traced to the growing encroachment⁷ of human settlements on the land in and around the reserve. Ogutu says the Maasai, a traditionally semi-nomadic community, have been settling down in growing numbers in recent years, using an ever-larger amount of land to grow crops and graze livestock.

"An increase in the number of people alone does not lead directly to a decrease in the number of wildlife," he said. "Because these people have adopted a more settled lifestyle compared to a semi-nomadic lifestyle that they used to have in the past, it means that they are using the areas where they settle very intensively."

The study's authors point out that the Kenyan government's neglect of the Maasai community's concerns has encouraged them to give up elements of their traditional lifestyle.

The authors also say the government should put in place more coherent policies regarding what sorts of activities can be carried out on land around the reserves. Ogutu notes that in the Serengeti, the larger extension of the Maasai Mara across the border in Tanzania, where most of the surrounding land is publicly-owned, there have been far fewer problems with encroachment.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

3 ostriches   

n.鸵鸟( ostrich的名词复数 )；逃避现实的人，不愿正视现实者

参考例句：

• They are the silliest lot of old ostriches I ever heard of. 他们真是我闻所未闻的一群最傻的老鸵鸟。 来自辞典例句
• How ostriches could bear to run so hard in this heat I never succeed in understanding. 驼鸟在这样干燥炎热的地带为什么能疾速长跑，我永远也理解不了。 来自辞典例句

4 abated   

减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
• The heat has abated. 温度降低了。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

7 encroachment   

n.侵入，蚕食

参考例句：

• I resent the encroachment on my time.我讨厌别人侵占我的时间。
• The eagle broke away and defiantly continued its encroachment.此时雕挣脱开对方，继续强行入侵。