The Toils and Spoils of Congo’s Crocodile-killers

刚果鳄鱼猎手的辛劳与收获

They threaten wildlife. But other jobs are scarce

他们对野生动物构成了威胁，但他们别无选择

Ciceron Nyalowala’s parents are disappointed. Their son took a boat from their riverside village to the city of Mbandaka, in the heart of the Congo Basin rainforest, where he enrolled in a teacher-training college.

西塞隆·尼亚洛瓦拉的父母感到很失望。他们的儿子乘船从河边的村庄来到了地处刚果盆地中心的姆班达卡市，在那里上了一所师范学校。

They wanted him to become a crocodile hunter, like his father and most of his ancestors. “There is a lot of pressure,” says Mr Nyalowala. Hunting for bush meat is popular – and may pay better than teaching.

他们本想让他成为一名鳄鱼猎手，就像他的父亲和许多祖先那样。尼亚洛瓦拉说：“我感到压力很大。”这里有很多人在猎捕野生动物，而且挣得钱可能比教书更多。

However, it harms wildlife in the rainforest, which spans six countries and is second in size only to the Amazon. Around 6m tonnes of bush meat are thought to come out of the Congo Basin each year.

然而，捕猎却对热带雨林中的野生动物造成了伤害。非洲热带雨林横跨六个国家，面积仅次于亚马逊热带雨林。据估计，全球每年约有600万吨野味来自于刚果盆地。

The number of animals killed for the pot has been increasing, according to a study from 2016 led by Goethe University Frankfurt. More hunters are selling their prey in markets, instead of eating it themselves.

据法兰克福歌德大学于2016年开始的一项研究显示，刚果盆地被猎杀的野生动物数量一直在增长。越来越多的猎手开始在市场上出售猎物，而非自己食用。

 

The trade has emptied out parts of the forest; 39% of it is at severe risk of over-hunting, the study says. Everything from bonobos (an endangered species of ape) to cobras, antelopes and, occasionally, elephants, appear at market stalls in Mbandaka.

据该研究称，这项贸易已经导致雨林中的部分野生动物被赶尽杀绝了；39％的物种面临着过度捕猎的严重风险。从倭黑猩猩（一种濒临灭绝的类人猿）到眼镜蛇、羚羊，甚至还有大象，在姆班达卡的市场摊位上可以看到各种各样的野生动物。

Over-hunting has made life more dangerous for crocodile hunters. The number of dwarf crocodiles, once common in the Congo river, is dwindling. So hunters have to chase the ferocious Nile crocodile instead. There are plenty of those. Their scaly bodies stretch to six metres and they often kill humans.

过度捕猎也使得鳄鱼猎手的处境变得更加危险了。过去在刚果河很常见的侏儒鳄的数量正在减少。因此，猎手们不得不转而去猎捕凶猛但数量较多的尼罗鳄。尼罗鳄的身上布满鳞片，身长可达6米，经常有人被它们所杀害。

Stalkers in canoes go after them at night, shining a torch while stirring the water. “The crocodile does not like that,” says Mr Nyalowala. “He begins to writhe and then comes to attack.” As the animal pounces so do its pursuers, spearing it.

猎手们会在夜晚乘独木舟对鳄鱼进行追猎，在搅动水面的同时用手电筒对其进行照射。尼亚洛瓦拉说：“鳄鱼不喜欢这样，它会扭动身体，并发起攻击。”当鳄鱼猛扑而来之时，猎手们便会拿起长矛向它刺去。

A live crocodile fetches more than a dead one in the markets in Mbandaka, so hunters bind their jaws and transport them some 200km downstream in their canoes. They sell for around $150 each.

在姆班达卡的市场上，活鳄鱼比死鳄鱼卖价更高，所以猎手们会把鳄鱼的嘴巴绑起来，然后乘独木舟将它们带至下游200公里的地方。每只鳄鱼的售价大约是150美元。

A teacher at a state school, by comparison, earns around $170 a month, though many did not get paid at all last year. No wonder Mr Nyalowala’s parents wanted him to follow in his father’s footsteps.

相比之下，公立学校的一名老师每个月的工资大约为170美元，而且去年许多老师根本没有拿到工资。这也难怪尼亚洛瓦拉的父母希望他能够子承父业。

英文、中文版本下载：http://www.yingyushijie.com/shop/source/detail/id/2128.html