The largest land animals on Earth. But their size has not protected them from the impacts of poaching or from the continued destruction of the vast swathes of interconnected habitat they need.

它们是地球上最大的陆生动物。但庞大的体型并不能保护它们免受偷猎的影响，也不能保护它们大片相互依存的栖息地免遭持续的破坏，这是它们生存所需的家园。

 

This latest Red List of Threatened Species – considered to be the comprehensive report on how nature is faring on an increasingly crowded planet – puts Africa's savanna¹ elephants into the endangered category.

世界自然保护联盟制定的濒危物种红色名录，被认为是反映日益拥挤的地球上，自然界生存现状的详尽报告，最新公布的名录将非洲草原象列为濒危物种。

 

Forest elephants are now even closer to extinction² – critically endangered.

非洲森林象现在更临近灭绝，被列为极度濒危物种。

 

Across Africa there are now just over 400,000 wild elephants. And this latest examination of decades of census³ data and habitat surveys has shown the demand for ivory still drives the decline in their numbers.

整个非洲目前只有40多万头野生大象。这项对数十年以来动物普查数据和栖息地调查的最新研究表明，对象牙的需求仍然是大象数量下降的驱动因素。

 

The level of threat they faced had also been masked by the fact that the African elephant was previously⁴ thought to be a single species. This is the first time that savanna and forest elephant [have] been assessed separately.

之前人们没有认清非洲象所面临的威胁程度，这是因为非洲象曾被误认为是单一物种。这是首次对草原象和森林象进行单独评估。

 

Victoria Gill, BBC correspondant

What does it mean practically to have this information about their status? How do you use that to protect these animals and reverse these declines?

维多利亚·吉尔     BBC通讯员

“知道这两种非洲象的现状有什么实际意义？如何利用这个信息来保护非洲象，并扭转它们数量下降的趋势？”

 

Dr Isla Duporge, University of Oxford⁵

While on the surface of it it looks bleak⁶, the fact that it's been flagged is actually positive, because then it means we can do something about it. And, separating the species, I think that's also positive because it means we can do something about it on a more concentrated level.

艾拉·杜波什博士     英国牛津大学

“虽然从表面上看来，前景不容乐观，但这件事情被提出来反而是好事，因为这意味着我们能对此采取行动。同时，我认为单独评估两种非洲象物种也是好事，因为这意味着我们能集中力量，采取行动。”

 

The loss of species and natural spaces is happening all around the world. But conservationists are confident that this wake-up call could ensure that these giant icons⁷ of African wildlife get the protection and the space that they need.

在世界各地，物种和自然空间都在消失。但环境保护工作者们相信，非洲象濒危所敲响的警钟能确保这些象征着非洲野生动物的庞大物种得到它们所需要的保护和生存空间。

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