第2572期:Study Finds India’s Tiger Population Doubled in 12 Years(2)

Arjun Gopalaswamy is an ecologist who knows how to measure wildlife populations. He said that estimates from India’s official tiger observation program have been undependable. He said some of the numbers in the study are much higher than past estimates of tiger populations from the same datasets. But he added that the study's findings seem to have corrected a data problem noted repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their range.

Arjun Gopalaswamy是一位生态学家，知道如何测量野生动植物种群。他说，印度官方老虎观察计划的估计是不可依赖的。他说，研究中的一些数字远高于同一数据集对老虎种群的过去估计。但是他补充说，这项研究的发现似乎已经纠正了科学家自2011年以来反复指出的数据问题，与老虎人口规模及其范围有关。

The study said tigers disappeared in some areas. These included habitats that were not near national parks or other protected areas, and areas of increased development, increased human use of forest resources and areas with armed conflict.

研究说，老虎在某些地区消失了。这些包括不在国家公园或其他保护区附近的栖息地，以及增加人类对森林资源和武装冲突地区的使用增加。

“Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jhala.

贾拉说：“没有社区的支持和参与和社区福利，我们国家就无法进行保护。”

That means local people need to see good results from their efforts to save tigers.

这意味着当地人需要从挽救老虎的努力中看到良好的结果。

Tigers are spread across about 138,200 square kilometers of India. But just 25 percent of the area is rich in tiger prey and is protected. Another 45 percent of tiger habitat is shared with about 60 million people, the study said.

老虎分布在印度约138,200平方公里。但是，只有25％的面积富含老虎猎物并受到保护。这项研究说，另外45％的老虎栖息地与约6000万人共享。

Jhala said strong wildlife protection legislation is the “backbone” of tiger conservation in India. “Habitat is not a constraint, it's the quality of the habitat which is a constraint,” he said.

贾拉说，强大的野生动植物保护立法是印度老虎保护的“骨干”。他说：“栖息地不是约束，而是栖息地的质量是一种约束。”

Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who did not take part in the study, praised the tiger conservation efforts as promising. But, he said, such efforts need to be extended to other wild animals to better care for the whole ecosystem in India.

没有参加这项研究的野生动植物生物学家拉维·切兰姆（Ravi Chellam）称赞老虎保护工作是有希望的。但是，他说，需要将这种努力扩展到其他野生动物，以更好地照顾印度的整个生态系统。

Chellam said several kinds of Indian wildlife are “on the edge,” and need more attention.

Chellam说，几种印度野生动植物“处于边缘”，需要更多的关注。