刚果的河马面临灭绝的危险(1/3)

Only 887 hippos are left in Congo, once home to the world's largest population of the water-loving mammal, and they will be extinct in the African country, an international environmental group warned Monday. Hippos are being killed by government soldiers, local militia and poachers, the World Wildlife Fund said. The meat is sold as food while teeth end up as part of the illegal ivory trade. The latest aerial survey puts the hippopotamus population in northeastern Congo's Virunga National Park down to under 1,000 animals, compared to some 29,000 in 1974. The last survey in 2003 counted 1,307. Conducted last month, the hippopotamus survey was carried out by the Congolese Institute for Conservation of Nature, the European Union and WWF.

地处非洲的刚果曾经拥有世界上数量最多的喜水哺乳动物——河马，但目前在该地区仅剩下了887只河马。世界野生动物基金会周一发出警告说，在刚果地区，河马的处境危险，濒临灭绝。 该基金会指出，河马数量大量减少主要是因为士兵、当地民兵和偷猎者的捕杀。河马肉被作为食品出售，河马牙则被拔下来用作非法象牙贸易。 最近的一次飞机调查显示，在位于刚果东北部的维龙加国家公园里，河马的数量已从1974年的大约29,000只下降到目前的不到1,000只。而2003年的一次调查结果则显示河马的数量为1,307只。上个月进行的这次飞机调查是由刚果自然保护协会、欧盟和世界野生动物基金会共同实施进行的。