Nepal’s only zoo has opened a new “honeymoon suite” for its two one-horned rhinos in the hope of persuading the endangered pair to breed for the first time.
Kancha, 20, and 22-year-old Kanchi have lived together in captivity for most of their adult lives, but have never bred — something the zoo’s manager Sarita Jnawali attributes to the quality of their enclosure.
She hopes that their new, much larger home, which features mud rather than concrete floors and two large ponds for them to wallow in, will persuade them to finally start mating.
“As far as we can tell, Kancha and Kanchi have never mated,” Jnawali told AFP.
“Before, we didn’t have the proper facilities for the rhinos to breed, and we hope this new enclosure will help us to increase species numbers.”
Thousands of one-horned rhinos once roamed the plains of Nepal and northern India, but their numbers have dwindled in recent decades as they have fallen victim to poaching and human encroachment on their habitat.
The animal’s horn is highly valued as an aphrodisiac in China, and a single one can fetch as much as US$4,000 on the international black market.
Experts say Nepal’s rhino population fell dramatically during the 10-year Maoist rebellion that ended in 2006, as army guards stationed in wildlife reserves to deter poachers left to fight the rebels.
Only around 435 remain in Nepal, Jnawali said.(AFP)
尼泊爾境內唯一的動物園為園內一對瀕臨絕種的獨角犀牛打造全新「蜜月套房」,希望牠們能順利完成「初體驗」、繁衍後代。
二十歲的坎恰與二十二歲的坎奇成年後便同居生活,卻不曾繁衍過子嗣,動物園經理莎瑞塔•伊納瓦利認為這與欄舍品質脫不了干係。
她希望這個佔地寬敞許多的新家可以促成牠倆的好事。新欄舍捨棄水泥地,鋪上泥層,還有兩個可讓牠們盡情翻滾的大水池。
伊納瓦利向法新社表示:「就我們所知,坎恰和坎奇還不曾交配過。」
「在此之前,園內並沒有適合犀牛繁衍的場地,因此我們冀望這個新欄舍有助繁衍族群。」
尼泊爾和印度北部的平原區曾有數千頭獨角犀牛出沒,但近幾十年來,由於偷獵和人類侵占棲息地的影響,數量日漸減少。
犀牛角在中國被視為極珍貴的壯陽藥材,國際黑市價格一支就高達四千美元。
專家表示,尼泊爾毛派作亂的十年間(二00六年結束),犀牛數量銳減,因為駐守野生保育區防止盜獵的士兵都被調去對抗叛軍了。
伊納瓦利表示,尼泊爾境內的獨角犀牛僅剩四百三十五頭左右。
(法新社╱翻譯:林倩如)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of