Reading. 3. Read the text find out the sentences with the words from ex 2

3. Read the text find out the sentences with the words from ex 2. Translate them.

Doing Conservation by numbers

Tiger conversationalists are trying a more business – like approach to saving threatened species – focusing not on collecting money but on performance standards.

Biologists at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York want to increase the number of tigers (Panthera Tigris) at the society’s research sites in Asia by 50 % over the next decade. WCS director for science Alan Dalton says the plan, called “Tiger forever”, will differ from previous conservation attempts because the society’s biologists, stationed across Asia, have set targets by which their success can be judged.

In the past, conservation groups have issued pleas for funds to save tigers while often having no clear idea of how that aim should be achieved. “This is not a fund-raising exercise”, says Dalton. “Tiger forever is designed to measure our impact on increasing tiger population at specific sites”. Ullas Karanth, an Indian biologist who works with the WCS, adds that “we are trying to be tough-minded with our people, seeking rigorous reviews of tiger plans”.

That philosophy seems to be attracting donors. Michal Cline, a New York businessman and WCS broad member, has contributed to the US$ 10 million already pledged to Tiger forever.

“I definitely think this will become a trend”, adds Sybille Krenzendorf, a biologist who coordinates tiger programs at the World Wild Fund in Washington DC.

From the forests of the Asian subcontinent to the steppes of Russia, poaching, illegal hunting and habitat loss have reduced tiger numbers dramatically in past decades, to between 3,000 and 5,000 animals. The situation is the most critical in the jungles of southeast of Asian nations.

One of the principal goals of the program is to increase tiger prey. “Tigers eat large, hoofed animals”, says Karanth. “The key to saving tigers is to maintain proper prey density”.

WCS biologists are relatively optimistic despite the low tiger numbers. Prey species have been dramatically reduced by poaching, owing to the many guns available after year of war. But good habit remains for both prey and tiger. To bring back the prey species, the WCS is encouraging local agencies and governments to set up a variety of incentive – based actions to cut poaching. These include paying informers to expose illegal hunting, offering bounties for guns or tiger traps, and instituting bonuses for diligent rangers.

Vocabulary

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