有关保护老虎和大熊猫的英语文章
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参考答案:Major Threats to the Panda
1. Destruction of the panda's natural habitat. In the eleven years from 1973 to 1984, suitable panda habitat shrunk by 50 per cent in six isolated, but otherwise ideal, areas. A 1998 logging ban implemented by the Chinese government helped to slow the habitat destruction, but poaching and illegal logging are still a problem.
2. Interruption of migration routes. Bamboo, the Panda's main food, flowers (produces seeds and dies) once every 10 to 100 years depending on the species. When the bamboo in one area flowers, pandas have to move to areas that have not flowered. Historically, it was easy for pandas to move from one area to another, but now it is not. Human population has expanded, roads and settlements have been built, and forests have been cleared for agriculture, fuelwood, and timber. These changes make panda migration difficult, often leaving pandas restricted to "islands of forest."
3. Consumption of Wild Meat Although pandas are occasionally hunted for their pelts, most pandas that are injured or killed by poachers are inadvertently harmed when the pandas are caught in traps meant for musk deer, takin, bear, and other animals. Wild meat is sold in the markets and restaurants in cities nearby the reserve. Eating wild meat in China is a threat to panda survival. (Note, pandas are not sought for use in traditional Chinese medicine.)
Wanglang Protects the Giant Panda by:
· Patrolling the Reserve for poachers and sick or injured pandas.
· Protecting the forests as a key habitat area.
· Educating visitors about panda protection and environmental issues.
· Supporting panda research.
· Providing a corridor for panda migration between adjacent panda habitats.
· Educating local residents about the value of conserving pandas.
· Supporting economic development of local communities to minimize their need to use panda habitat for to provide for their livelihood.
How You Can Protect Pandas
· Know and follow the regulations of the Reserve.
· Don't purchase or eat any kind of wild meat.
· Make a donation to panda conservation at Wanglang Nature Reserve
· Purchase souvenirs at the Reserve, a portion of which supports panda conservation programs at Wanglang.
· Join an environmental organization to protect wildlife.
· Tell a friend about Wanglang and panda protection.
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Giant Panda
The panda is a carnivore that has adapted to being a vegetarian. It lives on bamboo, which has very little nutritional value - so to obtain enough nourishment the animal has to eat for up to 14 hours a day.
Every so often - sometimes once in ten years, sometimes once a century - the bamboo flowers en masse, dies back and takes years for the seedlings to mature. This phenomenon, coupled with land encroachment, leaves the panda helpless and starving.
It is also a solitary animal, which means that it breeds infrequently - a process not helped by the fact that the female is on heat for a mere three days.
Current threats & problems
The panda shares its habitat with a variety of species which are extremely valuable to hunters supplying the booming medicinal trade in South-east Asia. Deer antlers, bear gall and musk deer pods are sought by poachers who litter the mountainsides with wire snares, some of which trap the panda. Even though trading in panda skins carries the death penalty in China, this rare and secretive animal is prized by collectors for its skin.
Between 1974 and 1988, the panda's mountainous bamboo habitat has shrunk by half. Agriculture, logging and China's huge population increase have taken their toll.
What WWF is doing
The Shaanxi provincial government, in partnership with WWF - the first conservation organisation ever to work in China - initiated the creation of five new panda reserves and five forested "corridors" (so that pandas can move from one feeding area to another in order to reduce the risk of in-breeding) that re-link key panda habitats in April 2003. Across China there are now 40 panda reserves - protected areas for pandas - compared to 13 two decades ago.
The focus of WWF' s involvement remains in the forefront of panda conservation: we finance the training of local rangers to combat poaching activities and we assist with the implementation of the government's plan.
The Chinese authorities are interested in loaning pandas to foreign zoos, thereby generating millions of dollars. While WWF is opposed to short-term loans, it believes that long-term breeding loans may benefit panda conservation, provided they are part of an integrated international captive breeding programme designed to complement conservation in the wild.
Since 1980, WWF has worked with the Chinese government and spent £2.6 million on panda projects. Scientists, managers and guards have been trained and equipped to protect the panda and its precious habitat. WWF has also helped build the research laboratory and captive breeding centre at Wolong, China's largest reserve. Captive breeding is continuing with the aim of releasing pandas into the wild, but as yet success is limited.
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Mammals: Tiger
Range: small pockets of Asia
Habitat: tropical rain forest, snow-covered coniferous and deciduous forests, mangrove swamps, and drier forest areas
Black and white and orange all over
Tigers are recognized by their orange, black, and white stripe pattern. The tiger is a stalk-and-ambush hunter, and the stripes are good camouflage in the long grass. Dark stripes on a pale background break up the tiger’s outline as it lies in wait for prey to come near. Tigers can also be black with tan stripes, all white (albino), or white and tan. The “white tigers” found in some zoos are not albino but rather the white-and-tan color variation with blue eyes (true albinos have pink eyes).
Hunting gear
A tiger’s front paws are large and strong to bring down prey. The front paws of a tiger have five toes each. The claws can be pulled inside while the tiger walks, which helps keep the claws sharp. Tigers also use their claws to mark their territory by scratching on trees. Conveniently, this also sharpens the claws.
Tigers are patient hunters and can move slowly and quietly, stalking their prey for 20 or 30 minutes. A tiger’s large canine teeth and powerful jaws are used to grab a prey animal by the neck and suffocate it. Tigers use their sandpaper-rough tongues to scrape the last bits of meat from the bones of a meal. A tiger will make a kill once or twice a week and eat as much as it can. Using its paws, it then covers the leftovers with grass and dirt to hide it from vultures and other scavengers. The tiger will return to the kill over the next few days for smaller snacks. In the wild, they prefer pigs and deer, while in some parts of Asia they may bring down a rhino or elephant calf. At the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park the tigers are fed a varied diet, including a ground beef mixture with vitamins and minerals, carcasses, and large bones.
Six types of tigers
There are currently six subspecies of tigers. The different subspecies are found in areas of Asia, India, and Russia. The largest subspecies is found in snowy areas of Russia. The smallest and darkest subspecies is found farther south, in the jungles of Indonesia. Tigresses (females) are always smaller than males.
Siberian or Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica— The largest of the tiger subspecies, males can be as long as a station wagon! These tigers also have the palest orange coat and the fewest stripes.
Bengal or Indian tiger Panthera tigris tigris— This is the most common subspecies of tiger.
Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti— These tigers are about 20 percent smaller and are darker than Bengal tigers.
Malaysian tiger Panthera tigris jacksoni — This is the subspecies at the San Diego Zoo.
South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis— These tigers are slightly smaller than the Indochinese subspecies. In the 1950s, the Chinese government ordered that these tigers be destroyed because they were viewed as pests. Today, there are less than 30 South China tigers left in the wild. Thankfully, the Chinese have taken steps toward a plan to protect the remaining South China tigers.
Sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae— Even though the Sumatran is the smallest tiger subspecies, it’s still a pretty big cat. Imagine a tiger the same length as a school cafeteria table!
Tiger babies
Tiger cubs are born small and helpless, but the mother must leave them alone while she hunts. Tiger cubs don’t hunt on their own until they are two years old. A tigress can have a litter of up to seven cubs every two years. In the wild, the mother could not kill enough prey to feed so many hungry cubs, so usually only two survive.
Catch a tiger by the tail
To people of many cultures, the tiger is a symbol of strength and courage. But if tigers are so admired, why are they endangered? For many years, tigers have been hunted for their fur and other body parts, some of which are used in native medicines. In some cultures, people hunt tigers for sport or to demonstrate their own bravery. Tiger hunting continues today because the body parts can be sold for a lot of money. Several traditional medicines use tiger parts as a cure for all kinds of illnesses, from pimples to toothaches. These “cures” have never been proven to be effective.
Tigers also suffer from habitat loss. When people move into areas where tigers live, tigers are forced into smaller and smaller areas where there may not be enough food for the big cats to survive.
The end of the tail?
Sadly, it is possible that tigers could be gone by 2010. Tiger researchers estimate that there are fewer than 2,500 tigers in the world. But there is a lot of work being done to make sure that tigers will survive. In the early 1970s, India began passing laws against killing tigers. Since then, other countries with wild tigers have passed similar laws. Many countries around the world, including the United States, have passed laws to stop the sale of products made from tiger parts. International projects exist that help protect wild tiger habitat. Zoos help tigers through breeding programs and by teaching people around the world about these cats.