Time Running Out for Africa's Great Apes

享誉世界的非洲黑猩猩研究学者和保护者Jane Goodall最近重访四十年前的研究基地,东非的坦桑尼亚。她的所见所闻令她悲哀,同时,本文的第一、二段所形成的鲜明对比,也让读者悲从中来: 40年之前:she could climb to a hilltop and see nothing but rain forest andchimpanzee habitat stretching to the horizon. 40年之后:…only a tiny piece of its old size,about ten miles long andthree miles deep,surrounded by cleared land and eroding soil. 20世纪初,非洲黑猩猩的数量估计近二百万,而今只有二十万左右！ 下面这句道出了非洲黑猩猩数量锐减的根本原因: As loggong companies push into the rain forests,their roads give ruthlesshunters access to chimp populations,which they kill for the lucrative(有利的)trade in bush meat. 可悲的是,much of the meat ends up in upscale(高消费阶层的)restaurantsin African cities. 遗憾的是,the chimpanzee’s greatest liabilities(不利条件)was its inability(无能)to adapt to new habitats.