今年西南地區(qū)破天荒地孵出了許多小禿鷹

今年西南地區(qū)破天荒地孵出了許多小禿鷹

The condor may be to California what the bald eagle is to America: a high-flying symbol of strength and independence — with a bit of a weird streak.

禿鷹之于加州，可能就像禿鷹之于美國一樣：象征著力量和獨(dú)立——帶著一點怪異的條紋。

Biologists captured this 'precious' photo of a condor nest just north of Angels Landing at Zion National Park after scaling a nearby cliff. (Photo: National Park Service)

But for a while, it seemed this breathtaking bird would fade forever into the California sunset.

但有一段時間，這只令人驚嘆的鳥似乎將永遠(yuǎn)消失在加州的夕陽中。

By 1982, the ravages of hunting, habitat encroachment and lead poisoning had reduced their numbers to a mere 22. That spelled the end of independence for these raptors. Five years later, the last of their kind were living in the Peregrine Fund's captive breeding program.

到1982年，由于狩獵、棲息地侵蝕和鉛中毒的破壞，它們的數(shù)量已經(jīng)減少到只有22只。這意味著這些迅猛龍的獨(dú)立結(jié)束了。五年后，他們的最后一個品種生活在Peregrine基金的圈養(yǎng)繁殖計劃中。

It was a necessary measure — and, ultimately, a successful one. There are four wild population areas of condors, according to the National Park Service: Baja California, Mexico; Central California; Southern California; and Southwestern U.S. Now, the population has reached more than 500 individuals, with 312 of them living in the wild. A species that had once called much of North America home has begun to spread its wings again.

這是一個必要的措施，最終也是一個成功的措施。根據(jù)國家公園管理局的數(shù)據(jù)，禿鷹共有四個野生棲息地:墨西哥的下加利福尼亞;加州中部;加州南部;現(xiàn)在在美國西南部，它們的數(shù)量已經(jīng)超過500只，其中312只生活在野外。一個曾經(jīng)將北美大部分地區(qū)稱為家的物種已經(jīng)開始再次展開翅膀。

Now in 2019, the Grand Canyon National Park documented the fifth wild-hatched California condor chick in October, making it a record number of chicks in the Southwest for a year.

在2019年10月，大峽谷國家公園記錄了第五只野生孵化的加利福尼亞禿鷹雛鳥，這是西南地區(qū)一年來雛鳥數(shù)量的記錄。

The nestling, identified as Number 1005, is estimated to have hatched on May 9 from a mating pair with stud numbers 423 at O'Neill Butte, the park announced in a news release.

公園在新聞發(fā)布會上宣布，這只編號為1005的雛鳥，據(jù)估計是5月9日在奧尼爾布特從一對編號為423的配種中孵化出來的。

"We knew that the parents were exhibiting nesting behavior, and it took us a few months to locate it," said Wildlife Biologist Miranda Terwilliger, Grand Canyon's condor project manager. "One of our long time volunteers Bob George, known as Condor Bob, found the nest and chick."

大峽谷禿鷹項目經(jīng)理、野生生物學(xué)家米蘭達(dá)·特威利格說:“我們知道這對父母表現(xiàn)出了筑巢行為，我們花了幾個月的時間才找到它們。”“我們的一位長期志愿者鮑勃·喬治，人稱禿鷹鮑勃，找到了鳥巢和小雞。”

Secretive parents

神秘的父母

Condors are the hermits of the bird kingdom, often nesting on solitary peaks. (Photo: National Park Service)

Indeed, biologists had to sleuth out their presence, often casing their rocky and remote neighborhoods for signs of new family members.

事實上，生物學(xué)家不得不探查它們的存在，經(jīng)常在它們多巖石的偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)尋找新家庭成員的跡象。

Ultimately, a condor couple — designated 409 and 523 — gave themselves away when they started taking turns leaving the nest for food.

最后，一對編號為409和523的禿鷹夫婦在開始輪流離巢覓食時，暴露了自己。

In the end, scientists had to scale a cliff across from the family's cave to finally get photographic proof that baby 1,000 was officially in the world.

最后，科學(xué)家們不得不爬過家族洞穴對面的懸崖，最終獲得1000個嬰兒出生的照片證據(jù)。

With their numbers surging beyond 500, the California condor has come a long way since the early 1980s. (Photo: National Park Service)

And the baby designated 1,001? That squeaking bundle of feathers has already been confirmed, born to parents bred in captivity at the Grand Canyon.

孩子的出生數(shù)是1001 ?這群小羽毛發(fā)出的吱吱聲已經(jīng)得到了證實，它們是在大峽谷人工飼養(yǎng)的父母所生。

Still, it isn't all blue skies for the California condor. Classified as critically endangered on IUCN's Red List, these raptors rely on dedicated conservation efforts.

不過，加州禿鷹的天空并不總是一片蔚藍(lán)。這些迅猛龍被列為世界自然保護(hù)聯(lián)盟紅色名單上的極度瀕危物種，它們依靠的是專門的保護(hù)措施。

"After over two decades of efforts to restore condors to the southwest, it is nice to take a moment to reflect on the steady and slow progress made and thank those who have contributed so much, like Zion National Park, to see this effort through," Chris Parish, conservation director for The Peregrine Fund noted in a press release. "We have a long way to go, but today we celebrate this milestone."

”經(jīng)過兩年的努力恢復(fù)禿鷹的西南部,是很高興花點時間反思的穩(wěn)定和緩慢進(jìn)展,感謝那些貢獻(xiàn)了那么多,像錫安國家公園,看到這一努力,”克里斯•教區(qū)保護(hù)主任游隼基金在一份新聞稿中指出。“我們還有很長的路要走，但今天我們慶祝這一里程碑。”