| | | Words
in the News |
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INTRO | | BBC
east Africa correspondent Cathy Jenkins reports on the return after 64 years of
pink flamingos to Lake Nakuru in Kenya. |
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IN
FULL | |
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Listen
to the report in full |
 |  |
28th
December 2000 Pink
flamingos arrive in Kenya |
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| NEWS
1 | |
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Listen
to the first part of the report |
| | | From
afar the flamingos which line the edge of Lake Nakuru are a shimmering
carpet of pink. Close up they're a cacophony of flapping wings, about eight
hundred thousand pairs of wings, according to researchers and there are soon to
be more. For the first time since 1936 the pink flamingos have chosen to breed
at Nakuru and people like Daniel Koros, of the WorldWide Fund for Nature are very
happy about it. "I
think we are quite excited that they are doing this now. We've already observed
several birds sitting on eggs in the north of the lake and also a few to the south." |
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WORDS | |
flamingos:
birds with
pink feathers, long thin legs and a curved beak
shimmering:
shining with
a faint light
cacophony:
a loud unpleasant mixture of sounds
chosen to breed: the flamingos
have 'decided' to mate and produce new offspring at this particular location.
observed: watched |
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| NEWS
2 | |
|
Listen
to the second part of the report |
| | | But
the breeding is one bright note in an otherwise worrying picture. Lake Nakuru
is under pressure both from natural factors like changes in the weather and from
the pollution which comes from the factories on the edge of Nakuru
national park. The scientists are worried about a build up of heavy metals
in the water including lead, zinc and mercury. These are absorbed by the algae
which are eaten by the pink flamingos. Doctor Gideon Motelin, lecturer at
nearby Egerton university, says that overall the population of pink flamingos
is on the decline. To try to reverse the trend environmentalists have approached
the local factories asking them to cut down on the harmful waste they produce.
But out of a hundred and sixty factories only sixteen have taken the
environmental issue onboard and even these, according to a report, mostly
lack the technical expertise to introduce effective changes. |
| WORDS | |
pollution:
unpleasant
and harmful substances in the air, the water and the environment
a build up
of: a gradual
increase in
absorbed
by the algae: taken in by the small plants that the flamingos eat
on the decline:
becoming
fewer
to
cut down on: to
reduce
have
taken
the environmental issue on board: have
considered and accepted there is an environmental problem
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