《经济学人》双语：野猫入侵夏威夷怎么办？

原文标题：
Invasive species
Cat got your tern
Feral house cats have invaded Hawaii
入侵物种
猫叼走了你的燕鸥
野猫已侵入夏威夷
 
They are killing the state’s native species. Some Hawaiians want to cull them instead
野猫杀死本地物种。一些夏威夷人想要捕杀野猫
[Para.1]
When Mark Twain first set eyes on Honolulu in 1866, he observed that the trees were so dense that they blocked the sunlight, lava from past volcanic eruptions covered the corals—and cats were everywhere.
1866年，马克·吐温第一次来到檀香山，发现这里密林蔽日，火山熔岩覆盖着珊瑚，而且到处都是猫。
 
In a dispatch for the Sacramento Union, Twain reported seeing “tame cats, wild cats, singed cats, individual cats, groups of cats, platoons of cats, companies of cats, regiments of cats, armies of cats, multitudes of cats, millions of cats, and all of them sleek, fat, lazy, and sound asleep”.
在给《萨克拉门托联合报》的一则电讯中,吐温写道，他看到了“温顺的猫，狂野的猫，烧焦毛的猫，独居的猫，成群的猫，成排的猫，成连的猫，成团的猫，成队的猫，大批的猫，成千上万的猫，无一例外都有一身光亮的皮毛，肥嘟嘟，懒洋洋，还香香地睡着。”
 

[Para.2]
Nearly 160 years later, however, the descendants of the cats that so delighted Twain are now widely seen as a menace to the islands.
那些猫很受吐温喜爱，可近160年过去后，它们的后代竟成了当地的一大祸害。
 
The feral cat, explains the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC), has become one of the state’s most “devastating” predators.
夏威夷入侵物种委员会(HISC)称，这些野猫已经成了夏威夷州最具破坏性的掠食动物之一。
 
[Para.3]
Cats were first brought to Hawaii aboard European colonists’ ships, where they preyed on rats and mice.
猫起初是坐上欧洲殖民者的船来到夏威夷的，这些猫在船上捕食老鼠。
 
As their number in their new home grew during the 19th century, birds started to disappear.
19世纪，当地猫类变多了，而鸟类开始消失。
 
At least 30 types of native bird became more scarce or went extinct between 1870 and 1930 as they were exposed to their new whiskered foes, according to the US Geological Survey.
根据美国地质调查局的数据，在1870到1930年间，至少30种土生鸟类受这些猫的威胁而越发稀少甚至灭绝。
 
[Para.4]
Birds are not the only casualty of Hawaii’s feline invasion.
鸟类并不是夏威夷猫类入侵的唯一受害者。
 
Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite that reproduces in the digestive systems of cats, and then contaminates soil and water through their faeces.
弓形虫病是由一种寄生虫引起的疾病，这种寄生虫在猫的消化系统内繁殖且经由它们的排泄物进而污染水土。
 
A new study determined that two spinner dolphins found stranded off the Hawaiian coast died of toxoplasmosis.
一项新的研究表明于夏威夷海岸发现的两只搁浅的飞旋海豚死于弓形虫病。
 
From these findings the authors suggest that at least 60 spinner dolphins have died of the parasite over the past 30 years.
根据调查结果，作者认为在过去30年里，至少有60头飞旋海豚因这种寄生虫而死。
 
[Para.5]
The overwhelming majority of the whales and dolphins included in the study were killed by other means.
这项研究中绝大多数的鲸鱼和海豚之死另有原因。
 
But “if they do become infected, this study suggests that they die and they die quickly”, says Kristi West, one of the authors and director of the Health and Stranding Lab at the University of Hawaii.
但“这个研究表明，它们如果被感染就会迅速死亡”，夏威夷大学健康与搁浅实验室主任兼作者克里斯蒂·韦斯特称。
 
Hawaii’s endangered monk seals have also been killed by the bug.
濒危的夏威夷僧海豹之死也是由于这个原因。
 
[Para.6]
Feral cats are not just a problem for Hawaii. A study published in Global Change Biology suggests that, globally, they are responsible for the extinction of at least 14% of bird, mammal and reptile island species.
野猫不仅仅给夏威夷带来了麻烦，《全球变化生物学》上的一项研究显示野猫还致使全球范围内至少14%的鸟类、哺乳和爬行岛屿物种灭绝。
 
Toxoplasmosis has also been found to kill sea otters along the California coast.
加州海岸也有海獭死于弓形虫病。
 
[Para.7]
What can be done?
该怎么做呢？
 
A bill that could have directed the HISC to cull cats using poisoned bait, as Australia has done, died in the state legislature earlier this year.
之前本来有一项法案指导夏威夷入侵物种委员会利用毒饵捕杀部分野猫，跟澳大利亚的做法一样，但这项法案今年早些时候在州议会上夭折。
 
Animal-lovers prefer to focus on capturing, neutering and releasing wild cats so that they have no kittens. But HISC contends that such programmes do not actually help curtail cat numbers.
动物爱好者更主张把野猫捉来绝育，然后放生，如此一来这些野猫就不能繁衍后代，而委员会坚称这种方案不能有效缩减野猫数量。
 
Ms West suggests that people are too quick to blame the cats, when there is another culprit.
韦斯特女士认为人们总是急于责怪猫咪，其实罪魁祸首另有其人。
 
“People have to stop abandoning these poor cats,” she says. “It’s not really a cat problem. It’s a human problem.”
“人类不能再抛弃这些可怜的猫咪了，”她说。“这并不是猫咪的问题，而是人类自己的问题。”
 
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量506左右）
原文出自：2022年12月10日《The Economist》United States版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Guo Zhenyan本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
1866年3月，马克·吐温受托于《萨克拉门托联合报》(Sacramento Union)抵达夏威夷调查当地糖料种植园的发展状况，他在四个多月的时间里向国内发回25篇书信式报道。
 
飞旋海豚 Spinner dolphin出生75~80公分，成体雌2公尺，雄2.4公尺，体重达77公斤。体修长，吻细长，上下颚齿每侧45-62枚。背鳍位于中背，三角形，或顶端稍向後，偶有向前。尾鳍中央凹刻深且在尾椎末有微稜突起于尾鳍平面上。唇黑色，吻前端为黑，眼至胸鳍有黑带纹。性喜跃出水面，达3-4英尺，并以身体纵轴为轴，可以芭蕾旋舞，旋转至少3次，多达7次，故俗称〝飞旋海豚〞(spinner dolphin)。
 
夏威夷僧海豹Monk Seals在世界自然保护联盟（IUCN）濒临灭绝物种清单中属于极危物种。夏威夷僧海豹是唯一一种全年都在热带海域中生活的海豹。正如名字一样，该物种仅生活在夏威夷附近的海岛和环礁上。
 
海獭 Sea Otters，鼬科海獭属的一种动物。群居，除繁殖外，几乎终生海栖。夜间将海藻缠在身上枕浪而睡，以防止被冲走，并有几只轮流放哨。可潜水至50米深的海底，主要以贝类、鲍鱼、海胆、螃蟹等为食，常仰泳并将石块固定于胸部，把食物砸碎取其肉。由于生活环境恶劣，能量消耗大，海獭进食量达自身体重的1/3，为动物界之最。分布于北太平洋的寒冷海域。海獭皮下脂肪较薄，但皮毛极为致密，每平方厘米皮肤达12.5万根毛发，亦为动物界之最。高品质的皮毛引来人类捕杀。到1911年，全世界仅存下1000头，后经过保护才有所回升。
 
【重点句子】（3 个）
Birds are not the only casualty of Hawaii’s feline invasion.
鸟类并不是夏威夷猫类入侵的唯一受害者。
 
The overwhelming majority of the whales and dolphins included in the study were killed by other means.
这项研究中绝大多数的鲸鱼和海豚之死另有原因。
 
Ms West suggests that people are too quick to blame the cats, when there is another culprit.
韦斯特女士认为人们总是急于责怪猫咪，其实罪魁祸首另有其人。