國(guó)家地理:佛羅里達(dá)美洲獅的回歸(4)
"That was a milestone," wildlife biologist Jennifer Korn says of the sighting in the Babcock Ranch Preserve. Unlike males, females don't travel far from their mother's home range, a major limiting factor in the animal's expansion.
“那是一個(gè)里程碑?！币吧鷦?dòng)物生物學(xué)家珍妮弗·柯恩提到在巴布科克牧場(chǎng)保護(hù)區(qū)的那次目擊時(shí)說(shuō)。母美洲獅與公美洲獅不同，它們不會(huì)遠(yuǎn)離母親的棲地，這也是這種動(dòng)物擴(kuò)張領(lǐng)域的主要限制因素。
About a couple dozen panthers now live north of the Caloosahatchee, Kelly estimates, including a few females.
凱利估計(jì)，目前約有二十幾只美洲獅在卡魯沙哈奇河北岸生活，其中包括幾只母美洲獅。
The northward expansion is necessary for panthers to survive long term, but it's possible only if the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a patchwork of public and private lands that runs throughout the state, is preserved, Ward says. To make that possible, more conservation funding is needed to help landowners, mainly ranchers, prevent open spaces from becoming subdivisions, parking lots, and roads.
沃德表示，美洲獅想要長(zhǎng)久存續(xù)，就必須向北擴(kuò)張，但這只有在貫穿全州公共與私人土地的佛羅里達(dá)野生動(dòng)物廊道得到保護(hù)的情況下，才有可能實(shí)現(xiàn)。因此，需要更多保育資金來(lái)幫助主要是牧場(chǎng)主的土地所有者，防止空地變成住宅區(qū)、停車場(chǎng)與道路。
Many of the cats in Florida live on public lands, including Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, and Picayune Strand State Forest, which make up about 1,420 square miles.
佛羅里達(dá)州境內(nèi)的許多美洲獅都生活在公有土地上，包括大柏樹國(guó)家保護(hù)區(qū)、佛羅里達(dá)美洲獅國(guó)家野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)區(qū)、法喀哈契濱水州立公園保護(hù)區(qū)，以及皮卡尤恩濱水州立森林等，總共占地約1420平方英里。
But these and nearby protected areas in South Florida cannot support a much larger population of these territorial animals, says state panther biologist Dave Onorato. Panthers may each need up to 200 square miles of territory in which to roam and hunt, he says. At the same time, populations of white-tailed deer, one of panthers' primary food sources, have dropped in areas of Big Cypress. That may be partly because of invasive Burmese pythons, which devour deer and other panther prey.
盡管如此，州政府單位美洲獅專家戴夫·奧諾拉托卻表示，美洲獅是領(lǐng)域性動(dòng)物，因此這些地區(qū)與鄰近的南佛羅里達(dá)州保護(hù)區(qū)不足以支持更大的美洲獅族群。他說(shuō)，每只美洲獅可能需要大約500平方公里的領(lǐng)土來(lái)漫游狩獵。同時(shí)，美洲獅的一種主要獵物--白尾鹿，在大柏樹國(guó)家保護(hù)區(qū)某些地方的族群數(shù)量已經(jīng)減少了，部分原因可能是緬甸蟒的入侵，這種入侵物種會(huì)吃掉白尾鹿與美洲獅的其他獵物。
