Save the Andean Condor!

In pre-Hispanic times, the Andean Condor was known as

“Apu Kuntur,” a divine messenger from Inti, the Sun God.

Today, it is an endangered species, illegally captured for

festivals, illegally hunted for its feathers and body parts to
sell to tourists and use in shamanic rituals, and
accidentally poisoned and starved due to human
encroachment on its natural habitat.

This week, environmental authorities from Peru’s

southern department of Arequipa and local officials from
the Colca Canyon launched a campaign to drum up
support for proposed legislation to protect and conserve
Peru’s dwindling condor population.

“Our best estimate, and this is a guesstimate, is that there are 300 to 500 condors in Peru,” Rob
Williams, the Peru Country Program Director for Frankfurt Zoological Society, told the Peruvian
Times. “They really are disappearing so fast, and this is the slowest reproducing bird of all the birds on
the planet.”

A pilot plan to protect the species has been long in coming. Representatives from Universidad Nacional
de San Antonio Abad del Cuzco, the Autonomous Authority of Colca and Annexes (Autocolca), the
Andean Condor Working Group and the Frankfurt Zoological Society have been working together for
definitive action.

Some of the fatal pressure that the condor faces is not intentional. A widespread practice by Andean
farmers of poisoning feral dogs, foxes and pumas to protect their livestock takes an unknown toll on the
birds, which die from feeding on the contaminated carrion.

I am still trying to get my hands on a copy of the proposed legislation now in the works. Local officials
are quoted as saying it stresses education and enforcement, and would seek to increase the penalty to a
mandatory five-year prison term.

But implementing such legislation won’t be easy, especially if it is perceived as contravening the rights of
indigenous communities to maintain their cultural identity — rights enshrined in Peru’s Constitution.

Williams said that female condors are caught for Yawar festivals much more frequently than males. That
could be a partial explanation for recent studies showing an alarming imbalance in the sex ratio between
adult male and female condors.

There are disproportionately fewer females in a species that does not reach sexual maturity until they
are seven, Williams said.

Normally they don’t breed immediately, so probably the first time they try to reproduce is when they are
eight or nine, and then ensuing breeding attempts are made every three to seven years.

Williams said he met in November with representatives from Autocolca, the government authority that
administers the Colca Canyon.

“They know from their data that the number of condors is declining fast,” he said. “About four years ago,
they were seeing an average of 50-plus a day. Now they’re seeing 20-something a day.”
A. Match each bold word with its definition. You don’t have to use one definition.
1. Endangered a. to have a bad effect on sb/sth, to cause a lot of damage
2. To starve b. following, resulting
3. Encroachment c. to make a law or right respected or official
4. To drum up d. to manage to find or obtain sth, usually after some difficulty
5. Dwindling e. close to extinction, at risk
6. Widespread f. to deny food to, to have no food
7. To take a toll g. intrusion, trespass
8. To get one’s hands on h. to obtain, to produce
9. To enshrine i. diminishing, becoming less or smaller
10. Ensuing j. covering a large area, affecting a lot of sth
h. lack of equilibrium

B. Complete the chart with the correct form of each word.

NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE
dwindling
to exploit
recoverable
threat
to starve
enshrinement
indication
ensuing

C. You’re going to listen to a documentary from National Geographic about the pink dolphin.

This bump is not pink

dolphins’ brain

 Before listening:
 Why do you think these dolphins are pink?
 Do dolphins use their eyes for location?
 What are some of the problems that dolphins might be facing?
 After listening:
 How many species of freshwater dolphins are there in the world?
 What is echolocation?
 Why are pink dolphins so flexible?
 Why is the pink dolphin an endangered species?
 Do you think those local peoples hunt these dolphins?
D. Language function
Introducing examples:

 I have visited many national parks, for example, Manu and Huascaran.
 There’s a wide variety of animals there-for instance, alligators and birds.
 Vicuñas and Llamas thrive in habitats such as the Andean Plateau.
 Tambopata National Reserve is home to many species of wildlife, including monkeys, colorful
birds and large insects.
E. Work in pair.
With a partner find solutions for the following issues. Try to use the words for introducing examples.

F. Grammar
QUANTIFIERS AND DETERMINERS

Countable nouns -> have a plural form

Uncountable nouns -> are always singular. They take a singular verb.
NOTE! Some uncountable nouns can be countable with a change in meaning
Examples:
 Water, rain, tea, oil
If we want to change uncountable nouns into countable, we have to use a quantifier.
 Let me give you a piece of advice: don’t buy animals.
 There hasn’t been a drop of rain here for over a month.
 Hunters get liters of blubber from this species.
Uncountable Countable
A large amount of Plenty of
A great deal of A large number of
Plenty of The*
Some/any/no Several
How much How many

A few and Few –> countable nouns

A little and Little -> uncountable nouns
But:
A few and A little -> the quantity is fine or enough
Few and Little -> the quantity is not enough

Some -> used in question when we offer something: Would you like some information about this lagoon?
Any –> used in positive sentences when there’s no preference: Any inhabitant can raise cattle in this region.
With “no”, “nothing”, “no one”, “nobody” we use a positive verb: Nothing was done to save the blue parakeets.
In comparisons, we use less -> uncountable nouns and fewer -> countable nouns
This country gives less importance to environmental issues than tourism.
There are no fewer than 100 different species in the area.
Each and Every
Every -> used with almost, nearly, virtually, practically to emphasize a group as a whole
American biologists visit the Amazon Jungle nearly every year.
To talk about events at regular intervals: every single day, every six months, every few weeks, etc.
Some snakes hunt every couple of days.
Each-> used for things and people in pairs.
I had to wear a bandage on each knee. Or: both knees. each day = every day
As a pronoun
We were each given a camera for the trip. -> Each of us…

Some nouns have an irregular plural form:

Phenomenon -> phenomena
Criterion -> criteria
Bacterium -> bacteria
Nucleus -> nuclei
Fungus -> fungi
Cactus -> cacti / cactuses
Datum -> data
Vertebra -> vertebrae
ACTIVITIES:

1. Complete the chart:

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

rd
Community bulletin board for October 23 , 2019

Chemist Carolina Godoy will give ………….. (reading/a reading) of her handbook tonight at San Marcos
Faculty of Chemistry. She describes her latest handbook of chemical procedures to clean rivers as
…………… (work/a work) in ……………(progress/a progress).
th
Community bulletin board for August 25 , 2019

On Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. at San Marcos Faculty of Biology, Professor Jose Prado, who has written
…….(history/a history) of the Titi monkey program, will give …….(a talk/talk) on the exploration of …..
(habit/a habit) in the Amazon at (time/a time) when we seem to be running out of funds for the ecologic
program. Professor Prado will focus on several of the government’s ………(criteria/criterion) for
suggesting budget cuts.

2. Roich wants to join an environmental group. Listen to the interview and fill in the blanks.

I: Roich, perhaps you can tell me something about how you got interested in environmental science. And all
the __________you have in the subject.

R: Well, I’ve always been fascinated by plants and animals, and the last year a friend of mine, Mike
Procter, invited me to Brazil. He’s the head of a project there run by a European charity. The charity’s
_______ is to help groups of villages set up their own schools and medical centers. They also encourage
sustainable agriculture and the setting up of __________ to sell local handy __________
Anyway, it was during my _____ that I really began to understand the impact of climate change. I want to
learn more about this. And more generally how, decision-making on environmental _______in one part of
the world can affect the lives of individuals, as well.
I: You say you began to understand the impact of climate change. Could you give me an ________ of what
you saw in Brazil that influenced you?
R: Yes, of course. We’ve all heard about the________ of the rainforest. And I was able to see examples of
that. But, also people don’t realize that the climate in the region is changing and that the speed of change
is frightening.
There’s been a _______ there for a number of months and river levels are low. I had direct __________ in
this when I traveled with Mike. Having responsibility for the whole project in the area means that his job
involves traveling to some pretty remote areas. Sometimes, we had to go by boat to get to some of the
villages. And we had to carry the boat because there wasn’t ____________________ in the river.
I: And, is this change affecting the lives of local people?
R: A huge __________ The main problem has been the effect of the drought on food __________. The
majority of people there are farmers and all of them have lost animals and ________. The charity’s project
has been a success so far and the levels of ________ from the sailor handy crafts have increased. But, of
course financial success isn’t everything. It’s hard to imagine a ___________ without farming in an area
like that.
I: Your trip to Brazil sounds like an amazing experience. And, eh, since you’ve been back, have you done
anything to develop your ___________ in the area?

That’s all Folks!