國(guó)家地理:佛羅里達(dá)美洲獅的回歸(3)

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Scientists back then hatched an unprecedented rescue plan: In the mid-1990s they hired Texan Roy McBride, arguably the world's best mountain lion tracker, to capture eight of the cats in Texas, all females, then release them into South Florida. Five of them bred, and this infusion of genetic diversity reversed the panther's downward spiral.

當(dāng)時(shí)的科學(xué)家想出了一個(gè)前所未有的救援計(jì)劃：他們?cè)?0世紀(jì)90年代中期聘雇了可以說(shuō)是世上最優(yōu)秀的美洲獅追蹤者--德州人羅伊·麥克布萊德，由他在德州捕捉八只母美洲獅，然后將它們野放到佛羅里達(dá)州南部。其中有五只懷孕并生下幼崽，這種基因多樣性的注入挽救了佛羅里達(dá)美洲獅的頹勢(shì)。[qh]Populations grew slowly, and now there are about 200 individuals, most of them in a massive stretch of contiguous land south of the Caloosahatchee River, which stretches east from Fort Myers. "It's one of the most dramatic conservation success stories in U.S. history," says Carlton Ward, Jr., a conservationist and photographer whose work is supported by the National Geographic Society.[qh]佛羅里達(dá)美洲獅族群數(shù)量慢慢增長(zhǎng)，如今大約有200只，其中大部分生活在從麥爾士堡往東流的卡魯沙哈奇河以南的一大片綿延不斷的土地上。接受國(guó)家地理學(xué)會(huì)贊助的保育工作者兼攝影師小卡爾頓·沃德說(shuō)：“這是美國(guó)歷史上最戲劇性的保育成功故事之一?！盵qh]

But a variety of threats cloud the panther's future, including car collisions and panther-on-panther territorial spats, the two leading causes of death. About 25 of the cats are killed by vehicles each year, a reflection of how development and road construction threaten the species at a time when roughly 900 people are moving to Florida every day.[qh]然而，美洲獅的未來(lái)因?yàn)楦鞣N威脅而蒙上陰影，包括車禍，還有美洲獅之間的領(lǐng)域爭(zhēng)奪，這是美洲獅死亡的兩個(gè)主因。每年約有25只美洲獅死于車禍，這反映出在每天約有900人搬到佛羅里達(dá)的今日，開(kāi)發(fā)與道路建設(shè)對(duì)這個(gè)物種所構(gòu)成的威脅。[qh]Additionally, a new debilitating neurological condition with an unknown cause has afflicted more than a dozen panthers, alarming conservationists.[qh]此外，有十幾只美洲獅為一種新的神經(jīng)疾病所苦，疾病原因不明，但會(huì)導(dǎo)致行動(dòng)不便，這也讓保育工作者深感憂慮。[qh]There is also good news, however: Panthers are reclaiming some of their old territory. In 2016 scientists spotted a female north of the Caloosahatchee River for the first time since 1973.[qh]不過(guò)，也不是沒(méi)有好消息：美洲獅正在重返昔日的部分領(lǐng)域。2016年，科學(xué)家在卡魯沙哈奇河北岸發(fā)現(xiàn)一只母美洲獅，這是自1973年以來(lái)的第一次。[qh]