Transcript逐字稿
Machine transcription with names checked by hand. Small errors may remain; the audio is the record.机器转写，人名地名已人工校对，可能仍有少量误差，以音频为准。
0:00Hello everyone, welcome to Africa Conservation Online. I'm Fang Ye. And I'm Lin Xiao. In this episode, we walk you through the most important wildlife conservation stories from across Africa over the past week. Some encouraging, some heartbreaking. Let's start with encouraging news. The Mountain Gorilla population has passed 1,000. That's right. On October 2nd, Ugandan media reported that the combined mountain gorilla population of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 1063. Just a few decades ago, this species was widely believed to be doomed within this century.
0:45This is the result of decades of anti-poaching work, habitat protection and community-based conservation built up step by step. Behind every newborn gorilla are rangers patrolling the mountains day and night. Speaking of anti-poaching, Uganda just made a big move. On October 3rd, UN News reported that Uganda, with United Nations support, has opened a wildlife forensics laboratory. What does the lab do? Simply put, it lets seized ivory, pangolin scales and other evidence be tested in the lab to produce rock-solid that puts poaching gangs in court. In the past, many cases fell apart because arrests never turned into convictions. That is changing now. Turning science into a weapon against poaching. An approach worth spreading. Next, the Maasai Mara, a place many of our listeners have visited or are planning to visit. On October 1st, the Kenyan government announced tighter management rules for the mara.
1:43The trigger was a video that went viral online, showing tourist vehicles blocking a herd of migrating wildebeest. The environment minister then pledged a series of measures to regulate safari vehicle behaviour. The great migration is the soul of the Mara and the African dream for so many people. But if the tourists themselves become an obstacle to the migration, that defeats the whole purpose. We will keep following how the new rules are enforced. Also on the same day came heavy news. Official Kenyan data shows that human wildlife conflict has killed 255 people over the past two years.
2:26As habitats keep shrinking, elephants and lions wander out of protected areas, farmers lose crops, livestock get attacked, and the tension between people and wildlife keeps rising, how to make local communities truly benefit from conservation instead of bearing the cost alone, that is a question all of Africa has to answer. On elephants, there is heartbreaking news from Amboseli, 18 elephants have died and the investigation is deepening, four suspects have been arrested and suspected chemicals were recovered. The case is still under investigation but many suspect poisoning. If confirmed, it would be one of the worst poaching cases in recent years.
3:10We will keep watching how the investigation unfolds. Also elephant-related and highly controversial, the government of Botswana has approved the slaughter of 23 elephants to celebrate the 60th anniversary of independence. The announcement drew international condemnation. Botswana holds Africa's largest elephant population and the government calls it "sustainable use, but critics say celebrating a national day by killing elephants sends exactly the wrong message. Elephant news always pulls at the heart. So let's switch to something warmer. Remember Billy the baby gorilla? He was rescued by Nigerian customs some time ago.
3:51Right. On September 30th, Nigerian customs formally repatriated him to the Republic of Congo. Billy is finally home. Every successful repatriation in the fight against wildlife live trafficking is a heavy blow to poaching networks. And we will close with one more piece of good news. Three African wild dogs travelled more than 4,000 kilometres in search of mates. That is from the research team of Professor Scott Creel. African wild dogs are endangered and their populations are highly fragmented. This epic journey shows that as long as habitat corridors stay connected, the dogs can find their own way out and find new genes.
4:32Protecting corridors means leaving wildlife a road back home. That is all for this episode of Africa Conservation Online. I'm Fang Ye. And I'm Lin Xiao. For more details and links to the original stories, visit our Africa Conservation Online News page. See you next time.