印度國家公園三頭犀牛竟遭雷擊身亡

Three members of a rhino family have been killed by a lightning strike at an Indian national park.

近日，一犀牛家庭的三名成員在印度國家公園遭雷擊身亡。

A 27-year-old female, a 14-year-old calf and a baby rhino were found dead after they were struck by a bolt that 'shook the ground' for miles, officials said.

據當地官員表示，一頭27歲的母犀牛，14歲的小犀牛和一隻犀牛嬰兒被一場驚天動地、範圍達到數英里的雷電擊中之後死亡。

The family had been living in the reserved forest in Gorumara National Park in India's West Bengal state for more than a decade.

這個犀牛家庭已經在印度的西孟加拉邦Gorumara國家公園的保護林裏生活超過十年了。

Uma Rani, Jalpaiguri district's forest officer, said: 'The deaths were caused by lightning. It was an unprecedented accident.

傑爾拜古裏地區的森林官烏瑪拉尼表示：“它們的死亡是由雷擊造成的。這是一個前所未有的事故。”

Ajoy Sen, another guards in the forest, added: 'It is so disheartening to see the dead bodies of these lovely animals around. I still can't believe they are no more. Every guard in the forest loved the rhino calf the most.'

另外一位森林官阿喬伊森補充說道：“看到這些可愛動物的屍體是如此地令人沮喪。我還不能相信他們死了。森林裏的每一個警衛都最愛那頭小犀牛了。”

While deaths from lightning strikes are rare, India faces a constant battle against poachers at its national parks.

雖然雷擊死亡是罕見的，但是在國家公園，印度政府卻面臨着與偷獵者的持久戰。

One was even killed just hours after Prince William and Kate Middleton had visited Kaziranga national last month to raise awareness about protecting the species. Poachers killed the male rhino in Kaziranga National Park in Assam using high-powered assault rifles – and 88 empty cases fired from AK-47s were found lying near the slain animal.

爲了提高物種保護的意識，威廉王子和凱特·米德爾頓於上月訪問卡齊蘭加國家公園。不過就在幾個小時之後，就有一頭犀牛被殺死了。偷獵者使用的是高性能的突擊步槍，殺死了阿薩姆邦卡齊蘭加國家公園的一頭公犀牛，在被殺害的動物旁邊找到了88枚AK47的子彈殼。

All five of the world's rhino species are under constant threat from poachers seeking their horns to sell on the black market. Demand is high in countries such as China and Vietnam, where people mistakenly believe consuming rhino horns can increase male potency.

世界上總共五個犀牛物種都受到了來自盜獵者的持續威脅，他們尋求犀牛角，並在黑市上出售。在中國和越南等國家，這一需求尤其旺盛，那裏的人們錯誤地認爲犀牛角能提高男性性能力。