With their long tusks (象牙), elephants look strong. However, it is this feature that makes the animal endangered. Many of them1for their tusks. The crafts (工艺品) made of their tusks are 2 priceless goods that they are popular among rich people. Studies show that elephants are living under 3conditions than expected.
The elephants' tusks are actually part of their teeth. Once the teeth are lost, they 4 never grow back. Losing the tusk will not kill them, but they may find it difficult to protect themselves 5 danger, lift things and get themselves food. What really makes elephants endangered is the way they lose the tusks. Usually, to meet the demand for ivory (象牙), some poachers (偷猎者) kill6elephants and cut their faces open to remove the tusks. Because human beings kill elephants for best ivory, an increasing number of African elephants have 7evolved(进化) into elephants without tusks in order to survive. Others are still killed for ivory.
According to the experts, over the last decades, the population of African elephants 8 from 10 million to 400, 000. If the poaching continues, African elephants will die out in 20 years. To protect the elephants, 9 organization called TNC (The Nature Conservancy) held an activity "Ivory Only Belongs to Elephants" online. Users watched the videos about elephant poaching online, and expressed10they would like to say about protecting elephants. Besides, with the efforts of TNC and local African governments, laws are used to punish ivory trading to stop more elephant poaching.
Lately, people have entered the forests where chimpanzees live. The chimpanzees have been getting sick because of people's diseases. In addition, people are hunting chimpanzees. Their number is becoming smaller and smaller. Chimpanzees live in the plains and forests of Africa. They eat many kinds of foods, from plant leaves and seeds to insects and even other small animals. Chimpanzees' favourite food is fruit.
Chimpanzees are very clever and they can use tools well. They can catch bugs by using sticks, and break nuts by using rocks.
The world's forests are much smaller than they were before. Roads were built in deep forests, so people start to enter forests where chimpanzees live. That may lead to many problems. One problem for chimpanzees is that they can easily catch people's diseases and die. Chimpanzees are much closer to people than monkeys.
As it's easier for people to enter forests, they hunt more often. Young chimpanzees are caught to be pets or for scientific researches. The young ones are taken away from the forests, and the adults are killed. Chimpanzees are likely to disappear in the future.
Last month, I took my son Tom to see his grandparents in the countryside. His grandpa took him out to the garden to play. Tom was i in everything there.
At lunch, Tom told me, "Dad, I saw a hen flying."
"Impossible!" I said w thinking, "How can a hen fly?"
"Dad, the dog ran after the hen in the garden. The hen ran into a corner. When the hen saw no other way out, she suddenly flapped her wings and f up to the roof (屋顶). The hen got out of the difficult s. Dad, I didn't know hens could fly. How can she fly?" my child asked.
I thought for a w and said, "Maybe because of love. The hen loves her own life and that helps her fly!" Tom nodded. He seemed to have understood.
Last weekend, we visited Tom's grandparents again. This time I heard Tom s from the garden, "Dad! The dog is running after the hen again! Come and see!"
I ran out of the house. The hen was running after a group of chicks, followed c by the dog. Then the hen suddenly stopped and turned around—she r up her wings and clucked (咯咯叫) at the dog. I ran over and got between the dog and the hen to drive the dog away.
"Dad, why didn't the hen fly away? She k she can't fight the dog." Tom asked.
I thought for a moment and said, "Maybe because of love. She loves her babies m than anything else in the world." Tom thought for a long time and nodded. He seemed to have understood.
