In the sprawling wildlife sanctuaries of southern India, a team of commandos has been deployed to protect tigers from poaching in the first ever initiative by India driven by a dramatic decline in the big cat's population recent decades.
在印度南部的野生动物保护区，一队民兵被派遣保护老虎免遭偷猎。印度首次采取这样的行动，该国正在加强努力以扭转最近数十年这种大型猫科动物数量大幅减少的局面。
After three months of training in jungle survival and weapons use, a 54-member “Special Tiger Protection Force” has begun patrolling two major tiger reserves, Bandipur and Nagarhole, which straddle the border of southern Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states.
一个由54名民兵组成的“老虎保护特别行动队”在经过三个月的丛林生存和武器使用训练后，已经开始在班蒂普和那格河里这两个主要的老虎保护区开始巡逻。这两个保护区跨越南部的泰米尔纳德邦和卡纳塔卡邦边界。
The force will counter hunters and poachers, says Karnataka’s top conservation officer, B.K. Singh.
卡纳塔卡邦的野生动植物保护部门负责官员B.K辛格说，这个民兵队将对抗捕猎者和偷猎者。
“[A] special course was designed for them to have combat training so that they can raise arms and fight the armed gangs, etc., who we generally come across every now and then in our tiger reserves… they will be equipped with proper arms," says Singh. "Hitherto our performance in capturing the armed guys has not been up to date, not been to our satisfaction.”
辛格说：“他们接受了一个特别的战斗培训课程，使他们能够拿起武器与武装团伙战斗。我们总会不时地在老虎保护区里遇到武装团伙。这些民兵将配备适当的武器。到目前为止我们在抓捕武装分子方面的表现不太理想，还没有令我们满意。”
Wildlife experts have long contended that the lack of properly trained frontline staff to protect the tiger is one of the critical problems facing conservation efforts in Indian sanctuaries.
野生动物专家长期以来一直认为，缺乏受到正确训练的前线人员来保护老虎，是印度野生动物保护区面临的主要问题。
Many of the Forest guards are older and do not have the necessary skills take on the highly sophisticated gangs which poach wildlife such as elephants and tigers, says Tito Joseph from the Wildlife Protection Society of India.
印度野生动物保护协会的蒂托·约瑟夫说，许多森林保卫人员年龄较大，而且没有必要的技能来对付那些高度老练的偷猎老虎和大象等野生动物的团伙。
“Most of the forest guards are over 45 years old, those people cannot do better patrolling," Joseph says. "Also there is a need for young blood in patrolling areas. So the Special Task Force is constituted with young people.”
约瑟夫说：“大多数森林保卫者都超过45岁，那些人无法进行更好的巡逻...巡逻地区需要注入新鲜血液。这个特别行动队是由年轻人组成。”Forest officer Singh in Karnataka state says that unlike some of the northern states where the tiger is poached for its parts, the big cat itself is often not the primary target in southern India.
卡纳塔卡邦的森林官员B.K辛格说，不像印度北部的一些邦，偷猎者为了老虎身体的某个部位而偷猎老虎，在印度南部，这种大型猫科动物并不经常是主要的偷猎目标。
Instead, the hunting of animals like deer reduces possible prey for the tiger. As a result, he says, some tigers come to the edges of the forest in search of food and fall victim to hunters.
猎捕鹿等动物使得猎捕老虎的可能性减小。他说，因此，一些老虎跑到森林边缘来寻找食物，从而成了猎人的囊中之物。
“The weaker ones once they get pushed out of the reserve, they come into human conflict, they are targeted for killing by the people living on the fringes," he says. "Or sometimes a snare is put for a wild boar, a snare is put for hunting a deer and a tiger gets into it and gets killed.”
辛格说：“一旦这些处于弱势的动物来到保护区外，它们就卷入了与人类的冲突，它们成为住在森林边缘的人的捕杀目标。或者有时候，猎人设置陷阱来猎捕野猪或鹿，但是如果老虎落入陷阱就会被捕杀。”
Karnataka, with about 300 tigers in six forest reserves, has the highest tiger population in the country. But about 25 tigers have been killed in the last five years.
卡纳塔卡邦的6个森林保护区共有大约300只老虎，它是印度各邦中老虎数量最多的一个邦。但是在过去五年，约有25只老虎被捕杀。
The state plans to double the commando force from 54 to 108 in the coming years. Similar forces will also be trained to patrol 13 other tiger reserves across the country.
卡纳塔卡邦计划在未来几年里将这个民兵队的人数从现在的54人增加一倍至108人。类似的民兵队也将接受训练，然后到该国的其它13个老虎保护区巡逻。
India, with about 1,700 tigers, accounts for nearly half the world’s tiger population. Experts say the animal's survival here will determine the future of the species.
印度有大约1700只野生老虎，占全世界野生老虎总数的将近一半。专家说，印度老虎的生存状态将决定这种动物的未来。