African Wildlife Harder to Protect During Coronavirus
2020-05-19
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1A drop in tourism during the coronavirus crisis is making it more difficult for some organizations to protect threatened wildlife in Africa.
2Wildlife officials fear poaching activity will rise because the collapse of the travel industry leaves less money for guarding animals.
3In Kenya, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy project is home to more than 130 black rhinos.
4It forms the single largest group of the animals in East and Central Africa.
5"We are more alert because maybe more poachers will use this time to come in to poach," said John Tekeles.
6He is a guard at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
7His comments were reported by The Associated Press (AP).
8African rhinos have long been under threat from poachers who kill them for their horns.
9The illegal trade is fueled by the belief, in some cultures, that the horns have medicinal value which has not been proven by science.
10The number of black rhinos in Africa has been slowly increasing.
11But a report in March by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, said it still considered the animals "critically endangered."
12In part, the organization credits the comeback of the rhinos to effective law enforcement.
13However, Ol Pejeta's director, Richard Vigne, said enforcement measures are very costly.
14He said he spends about $10,000 each year for every rhino to pay for the protection.
15"In our case, that comes to close to $2 million a year," Vigne told the AP.
16"In the time of COVID, when tourism has completely stopped, where most of our revenue comes from tourism...it's a complete disaster."
17COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.
18The conservancy expects to lose $3 to $4 million this year.
19Vigne said the loss severely limits the group's ability to protect the rhinos.
20Wildlife activists across Africa are now waiting to see how poachers will react to the current situation, and whether more rare wildlife will be killed.
21Poaching of African rhinos had been decreasing in recent years, the IUCN reported.
22The group said there were 892 acts of poaching in 2018, down from a high of 1,349 in 2015.
23The IUCN said the population of black rhinos grew at a yearly rate of 2.5 percent between 2012 and 2018.
24Now, there are more than 5,600 animals.
25That growth was predicted to continue over the next five years, the environmental group said.
26I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A drop in tourism during the coronavirus crisis is making it more difficult for some organizations to protect threatened wildlife in Africa. 2Wildlife officials fear poaching activity will rise because the collapse of the travel industry leaves less money for guarding animals. 3In Kenya, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy project is home to more than 130 black rhinos. It forms the single largest group of the animals in East and Central Africa. 4"We are more alert because maybe more poachers will use this time to come in to poach," said John Tekeles. He is a guard at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. His comments were reported by The Associated Press (AP). 5African rhinos have long been under threat from poachers who kill them for their horns. The illegal trade is fueled by the belief, in some cultures, that the horns have medicinal value which has not been proven by science. 6The number of black rhinos in Africa has been slowly increasing. But a report in March by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, said it still considered the animals "critically endangered." In part, the organization credits the comeback of the rhinos to effective law enforcement. 7However, Ol Pejeta's director, Richard Vigne, said enforcement measures are very costly. He said he spends about $10,000 each year for every rhino to pay for the protection. 8"In our case, that comes to close to $2 million a year," Vigne told the AP. "In the time of COVID, when tourism has completely stopped, where most of our revenue comes from tourism...it's a complete disaster." COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. 9The conservancy expects to lose $3 to $4 million this year. Vigne said the loss severely limits the group's ability to protect the rhinos. 10Wildlife activists across Africa are now waiting to see how poachers will react to the current situation, and whether more rare wildlife will be killed. 11Poaching of African rhinos had been decreasing in recent years, the IUCN reported. The group said there were 892 acts of poaching in 2018, down from a high of 1,349 in 2015. 12The IUCN said the population of black rhinos grew at a yearly rate of 2.5 percent between 2012 and 2018. Now, there are more than 5,600 animals. That growth was predicted to continue over the next five years, the environmental group said. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 15_______________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17tourism - n. the business of visiting a place for pleasure 18poach - v. to catch and kill animals without permission on someone else's land 19alert - n. quick to see, understand or act in a particular situation 20critically - adv. in a way that is serious or bad 21endangered - adj. in danger of being harmed or lost 22revenue - n. the profits made from a business