Subtitles section Play video
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Rob: Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English.
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With me today is Neil. Hello, Neil.
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Neil: Hello Rob!
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Rob: In this programme we're going to be talking
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about endangered species, particularly elephants in China. So let's start with a question,
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Neil. Do you know how many elephants are still living in the wild in China? Is it:
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a) Fewer than 15,000 b) Fewer than 1,000
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c) Fewer than 300
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Neil: I don't know but I'm going to have a guess
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and say b) fewer than 1,000.
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Rob: I'll let you know if you're right or wrong
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at the end of the programme.
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Neil: So Rob, have you ever come across any animal
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species under threat in your travel?
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Rob: Yes, I have, I went to Australia a few years
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ago and saw some turtles on the beach laying their eggs and they're very rare, aren't they?
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Neil: They are very rare. I've always wanted to
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see them but I haven't had the chance. I was lucky enough to see a panda when I was in
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China once and they're threatened with extinction, too, of course.
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Rob: The sad thing is, Neil, these animals are
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in danger largely because of the activities of human beings. There are all sorts of reasons
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why this is happening.
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Neil: Yes, it's really upsetting. And it could easily
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be prevented if people thought a bit harder about the impact their lives make on wild
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animals. Take those sea turtles you were talking about, for instance. They're under threat
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for all sorts of reasons, over-fishing being one of them.
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Rob: Then there are various species of rhinoceros
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which could disappear in a few years' time. Again, people poach these creatures ─ poach
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means hunt illegally - because their horns are used for medicinal purposes. And, of course,
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in country areas, miles from civilisation, it's almost impossible to keep a check on
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illegal killings.
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Neil: It really makes you think, doesn't it Rob?
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Rob: Actually, it's not that simple, Neil. Human
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beings are also under pressure and often have strong arguments in favour of their actions.
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This Chinese farmer explains. He uses an expression that means "arrived". Can you tell me what it is?
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Chinese farmer: There are too many elephants around here.
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We used to grow sugar cane but then the elephants started showing up and ate it all. So we gave up growing it.
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There was barely anything we could grow. No matter what we planted there
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was nothing to harvest ... Now we grow rubber. It's the only thing they won't eat.
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Neil: He said "showing up". This means the elephants arrived.
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Rob: And he said they "gave up" growing it. This means they stopped growing it.
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Neil: The plight of the Asian elephant in China
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makes a pretty bleak picture, I must say. I understand that they are victims of all sorts of abuse.
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Rob: Yes, experts say their numbers have declined
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by 50 per cent in the last 75 years. Poaching is one reason why. They are hunted not for their tusks
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that happens to the larger African elephant ─ but for their skins to
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make leather goods and for their meat.
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Neil: They are also losing their habitats ─ that's the places where they live
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because of the growth in the number of plantations, particularly
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rubber, but also other cash crops. These agricultural monocultures, as they are called, spell death
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for the elephants' lifestyle. Logging or deforestation ─ in which whole forests are destroyed - also adds to their problems.
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Rob: What's more, in some places, their migratory
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routes have been cut off by human populations living in newly established villages.
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In a more general sense, just expanding human population is forcing them out of their natural environments.
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Neil: There's another very unpleasant way in which
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these creatures are suffering, Rob. Many of the young elephants are taken away from the
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herd and are turned into performing circus animals for tourists.
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Rob: Really, Neil?
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Neil: Yes, I hear that sometimes nails are driven
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into their feet, they are deprived of sleep, food and water. This is to make them easy to train.
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Rob: That's so cruel. But there are people trying
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to improve the situation, Neil. For example, there's a rehabilitation programme ─ that's
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a scheme to bring them back to a normal life - which rescues elephants at risk and give
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them protection within a special sanctuary. Then there are some people who are trying
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to get people to get farmers to work in a different way. Let's listen to a forestry
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policeman. He uses an expression to describe the way people farm the land. Can you tell me what it is?
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Forestry police representative: It makes me sad. I want people to know that
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they shouldn't cut down the forest and that there are consequences if they do.
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I want them to change their farming practices, to change how they make a living. We could become
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a tourist destination. People could make money from that.
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Neil: He said "farming practices". This means the way people farm the land.
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Rob: And he said "make a living". This refers to
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people earning enough money in order to survive. So, let's hope the elephants still living
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in the wild in China can be saved. So, would you like the answer to the quiz question now?
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Neil: Yes, OK. You asked me how many elephants are
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still living in the wild in China. Was it fewer than 15,000, fewer than 1,000, or fewer
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than 300? And I guessed 1,000.
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Rob: I'm afraid the answer is actually fewer than 300.
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Neil: That's a real cause for concern.
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Rob: Well, we're almost out of time. So, let's
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remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Neil.
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Neil: poach, habitats, showing up, gave up, farming practices
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make a living, rehabilitation programme
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Rob: Thanks Neil. Well, that's it for today. Until next time. Goodbye!
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Neil: Goodbye!