2020年起吴哥窟禁止骑大象 解放的大象将回归森林

为了响应各地动物保护人士的呼吁，柬埔寨政府决定终止著名的吴哥窟骑大象活动。吴哥公园曾被用来吸引游客的十几头大象即将回归森林，安然地度过余生。

One of Asia's most famous tourist attractions is taking a major stand for animals.

亚洲最著名的一处景点将做出保护动物的重要表态。

Following pressure from animal activist groups, Apsara, the management authority for the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia announced in June 2019 it would ban elephant rides in early 2020.

在受到动物保护团体施加的压力后，柬埔寨暹粒吴哥考古公园的管理当局Apsara于2019年6月宣布，将在2020年初禁止骑大象。

Now, the process has already begun.

现在，这一程序已经启动。

Local outlet the Khmer Times reports that on November 15, two of the 14 elephants currently at the park, site of the famed Angkor Wat temple, have been relocated to the nearby Bos Thom community forest.

当地媒体《高棉时报》报道称，11月15日，目前在该公园服务的14头大象已有两头被转移到附近的博斯托姆社区森林中。吴哥考古公园是著名的吴哥窟庙宇的所在地。

Long Kosal, an Apsara press representative, told the Khmer Times that the remaining dozen animals would be relocated to the same forest by "early next year."

Apsara的新闻发言人龙库索（音译）告诉《高棉时报》说，其余的12头大象将在“明年初”转移到同一片森林。

"The elephant is a big animal, but it is also gentle and we don't want to see the animals being used for tourism activities anymore," Kosal said. "We want them to live in their natural surroundings."

库索说：“大象是体积庞大的动物，但也是温和的动物，我们不想再看到大象被用于旅游活动。我们希望它们能在自然环境中生活。”

In 2016, an elephant named Sambo died at Angkor, drawing worldwide attention. Her death was blamed on a combination of heat stroke and exhaustion from ferrying so many human beings around.

2016年，一头名为桑博的大象在吴哥公园死亡，吸引了全世界的关注。她的死亡被归咎于中暑和接载太多游客。

Two years later, the World Wildlife Fund published an in-depth look at the dwindling populations of the Asian elephant, noting that the species' population had declined by 50% in just three generations.

两年后，世界野生动物基金会发表了一篇亚洲象数量减少的深度报道，报道指出，亚洲象在仅仅三代时间内数量就减少了一半。

dwindle[ˈdwɪndl]: vi. 减少；变小

According to Angkor Enterprise, which manages park admissions, the UNESCO-listed site is facing a decline in tourist numbers.

吴哥售票处的数据显示，这一被列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产的景点正面临游客数量的减少。

Its latest report says 1.8 million foreign tourists bought passes to the temple complex from January to September -- a 13.7% decline over the same 10-month period in 2018.

最新的报告显示，今年1月至9月期间，有180万外国游客买票进吴哥窟参观，相比2018年同期下降了13.7%。

While there's no predicting whether Cambodia's ban on Angkor elephant rides will impact visitor numbers, it comes at a time when more and more travelers and tourism organizations around the world have moved to eliminate animal-related attractions.

柬埔寨禁止在吴哥公园骑大象是否会影响游客数量尚无法预测，不过这条禁令的出台恰逢世界各地越来越多的游客和旅行社采取行动来淘汰动物相关景点。

Most recently, TripAdvisor -- one of the world's biggest travel listings and bookings sites -- announced that it would not sell tickets to any sites that breed whales or dolphins in captivity, such as the theme park SeaWorld in the US.

最近，全球最大的旅游比价和预订网站猫途鹰宣布，将不再出售任何圈养鲸鱼或海豚的景点门票，比如美国的海洋世界主题公园。