Maybe the only good thing about Covid lockdowns was the return of wildlife to our towns and cities. Birds, foxes, and deer were seen in the streets close to people's homes.
Of course, rubbing shoulders with animals - spending time with them – is amazing. But imagine a hungry African elephant stumbling into your garden, and eating your prize vegetables! How would you stop it? It sounds unlikely, but that’s exactly the problem faced by farmers in Africa.
Yes, as human populations increase while natural habitats decline, people and animals are increasingly being forced to compete for space. Wild animals can endanger humans when they break into their farms for food or water. And people might be forced to attack or even kill these animals to defend their homes.
This situation, known as human-wildlife conflict, is becoming more frequent. But in this programme we’ll be hearing about ingenious farmers in Kenya who are keeping their food safe from hungry wild animals. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary.
But first I have a question for you, Beth. Weighing around six tonnes, a fully grown African elephant needs to eat a lot every day, but how much exactly? Is it: a) 50 kilograms of food per day? b) 100 kilograms of food per day? or, c) 150 kilograms of food per day?
Hmm, I’ll guess an elephant eats 150 kilos of food a day.
嗯，我猜一头大象每天要吃 150 公斤的食物。
Neil(尼尔)
OK, Beth, we’ll find out if that's the right answer at the end of the programme. Victor Ndombi is food security officer for the wildlife charity, Save the Elephants. Victor works at Tsavo National Park in Kenya, where he’s often faced with wild elephants breaking into farms for food and water. Here’s Victor explaining more to, Michael Kaloki, reporter for BBC World Service programme, People Fixing The World:
好的，贝丝，我们会在节目结束时找出这是否是正确的答案。维克多·恩东比（Victor Ndombi）是野生动物慈善机构“拯救大象”的食品安全官员。维克多在肯尼亚的察沃国家公园工作，在那里他经常遇到野生大象闯入农场觅食和饮水。以下是 Victor 向 BBC 世界服务节目 People Fixing The World 的记者 Michael Kaloki 解释的更多信息：
Michael Kaloki(迈克尔·卡洛基)
How bad is the human-wildlife conflict between elephants and people here in this community?
在这个社区中，大象和人类之间的人类与野生动物的冲突有多严重？
Victor Ndombi(维克多·恩东比)
The conflict usually varies. What we experience here is, during the crop season, that is the rainy season, that's where we usually have the crop raids . The elephants usually come here -lots of them - and they crop raid on the crops.
Can I ask you, Victor, where do these elephants come from?
维克多，我能问你，这些大象是从哪里来的吗？
Victor Ndombi(维克多·恩东比)
So, they come from those private ranches, national parks and they come to this community. They are looking for where there is green pasture, so they come to this community where we have these nutritious foods… you know elephants love maize, beans, and that is the crop that farmers actually farm… so they come and eat those crops here, and also looking for water.
Victor sounds very calm about this, it's just a way of life for the people out here. But elephants do spell big trouble for farmers. A fully grown male elephant can weigh the same as six cars on top of each other. It's easy to see how they can destroy crops and livelihoods.
Victor works in a national park, a large area of land which is protected by the government because of its natural beauty, plants, or animals. He explains that the elephants raid crops like maize and beans from farmers in the park. To raid means to suddenly attack a place and steal from it.
These crop raids have become more frequent because elephants are desperate to find water, and because the park lacks money to fix broken fences which keep wild animals out. Victor says the raids have become a way of life, an activity that has become a regular thing in people’s lives, rather than something that happens only occasionally.
That’s no problem if it’s a fox in your rubbish bin, but African elephants are as big as six cars on top of each other, and this spells trouble for the farmers. If something spells trouble, it suggest that there may be problems in the future.
Fortunately, there’s an unusual solution that’s got people buzzing: bees. Ancient Kenyan folklore says that elephants are scared of bees. That’s right – elephants, the world's biggest land mammal, are scared of an insect the size of your thumbnail!
Victor’s team install beehive fences to protect farmers’ crops. Real bees work best, but even a recording of bees angrily buzzing is enough to keep the elephants away. Better yet, the bees also pollinate plants, and even produce honey. It’s good news for the farmer, but I have to feel a little sorry for the elephants…
Yes, especially because they need to eat so much. I think it's time to reveal the answer to my question, Beth.
是的，特别是因为他们需要吃这么多。我想是时候揭晓我问题的答案了，贝丝。
Beth(贝丝)
You asked me how much food an elephant eats per day, and I guessed it was 150 kilograms.
你问我一头大象每天吃多少食物，我猜是150公斤。
Neil(尼尔)
That was… the correct answer! Well done! A fully-grown African elephant needs 150 kilograms of food per day. OK let's recap the rest of the vocabulary we've learned in this programme about human-wildlife conflict, a phrase describing harmful encounters between humans and wild animals.
If you rub shoulders with someone, you meet them and spend time together.
如果你和某人擦肩而过，你就会遇到他们并共度时光。
Neil(尼尔)
To raid means to suddenly attack a place and steal something.
突袭意味着突然攻击一个地方并偷走一些东西。
Beth(贝丝)
A national park is a large area of a country which is protected by the government because of its natural beauty, plants, or animals.
国家公园是一个国家的大片区域，因其自然美景、植物或动物而受到政府保护。
Neil(尼尔)
If you describe an activity as a way of life, you mean thatit’s become a common or regular event for someone, rather than something that happens only occasionally.
And finally, when something spells trouble, it suggests that there may be problems coming in the future. Once again our six minutes are up. Goodbye for now!
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