Shivani Bhalla feels a strong sense of duty towards wildlife, and she wants others to feel it too.
Now based in Samburu in northern Kenya, the conservationist has worked for over 17 years with lions in the region. As lion habitats have contracted due to land-use change, conflict between lions and humans has increased. The African lion, one of the continent’s most iconic species, is now classified as vulnerable(脆弱的). Bhalla and her team aim to reduce these conflicts and seek mutually beneficial solutions.
Bhalla has seen firsthand the challenges facing the lions. Kenya’s recent economic growth has also included agricultural and industrial expansion into lion territory. Habitat loss from agricultural and industrial expansion has created tension between lions and communities. As lions struggle to find enough of their natural prey(猎物), they target raised animals. Impacted communities sometimes defend their herds and livelihoods via killings of the lions.
Habitat changes have also changed the lions` social structure. “In Samburu,” Bhalla says, “We don’t have prides(狮群). We actually have lions that live alone or they live in small groups. Lions adapt to their environment and they learn how to survive with what they have.”
Lions have also changed their behavior in an apparent attempt at self-preservation. As soon as they leave protected land and enter more populated areas, they tend to become nocturnal-active at night, and hiding in thick bush during the day.
Bhalla and her team have developed a number of successful programs designed to respond to the new reality of increased human-lion encounters. Looking to the future, a Lion Kids camp program provides conservation education and safari (游猎) experiences to children. Bhalla says she hopes to inspire these young conservationists to do work in Kenya. “People talk about children as the next generation of conservationists,” she says. “I like to call them a ‘new’ generation because children can be conservationists today.”
For Bhalla, it’s about more than just saving the species; she’s working to preserve something key to national identity.
【小题1】What do Shivani Bhalla and her team mainly work on?| A．Expanding the habitats of African lion groups. |
| B．Protecting Kenya’s endangered animal species. |
| C．Promoting the country’s economic development. |
| D．Preserving lion populations and reducing conflicts. |
| A．They have formed larger groups. | B．They have started living in isolation. |
| C．They have migrated to other regions. | D．They have become more active during the day. |
| A．It teaches children hunting skills. |
| B．It offers safari experiences to children. |
| C．It is more successful than other programs. |
| D．It encourages children to be professional researchers. |
| A．Negative. | B．Skeptical. | C．Optimistic. | D．Unclear. |
