澳大利亚出现罕见大规模鲸鱼搁浅 近400头已死亡

澳大利亚塔斯玛尼亚州西海岸发生大规模鲸鱼搁浅事件，现约有380头已经死亡，其他50头仍有生命体征，已被救援人员释放。考虑到天气和潮汐情况，救援工作可能需要持续数天。

A pod of whales, believed to be pilot whales, is seen stranded on a sandbar at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 21, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

澳大利亚官员表示，该国发生有记录以来规模最大的鲸鱼搁浅事件，大约有380头鲸鱼已经死亡。

About 380 whales have died in what is suspected to be Australia's largest stranding on record, officials say.

自周一（9月21日）以来，人们在塔斯马尼亚州西海岸发现了数百头搁浅的长肢领航鲸。

Since Monday, hundreds of long-finned pilot whales have been found beached on Tasmania's west coast.

截至周三晚些时候，救援人员已经成功解救了50头鲸鱼，目前他们正试图帮助剩下的大约30头鲸鱼。

Rescuers had managed to save 50 by late on Wednesday, and they were trying to help the remaining estimated 30 whales.

塔斯马尼亚州政府官员表示，“只要还有活着的鲸鱼”，救援工作就会继续进行。

Tasmanian government officials said the rescue effort would continue "as long as there are live animals".

塔斯马尼亚州公园和野生动物服务部门的区域经理尼克·德卡说：“只要它们还在水中活着，就还有希望，但随着时间的推移，它们会越来越疲惫。”

"While they're still alive and in water, there's still hope for them - but as time goes on they do become more fatigued," said Nic Deka, regional manager for Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service.

Rescue efforts to save whales stranded on a sandbar take place at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 22, 2020. Picture taken September 22, 2020.   Brodie Weeding/Pool via REUTERS

他补充说，现在的工作重点也将转移到将散落在海岸的数百具鲸鱼尸体挪走。清理计划仍在制定中，过去鲸鱼尸体会被埋在岸边或拖到大海中。

He added the focus would now also shift to removing the hundreds of carcasses scattered along the coast. A clean-up plan is still being worked out - in the past carcasses have been buried on the shore or dragged out to open sea.

目前还不完全清楚鲸鱼搁浅的原因。众所周知，鲸鱼容易搁浅。

It is not fully understood why the whales became stranded. The species is known to be prone to getting beached.

此次搁浅是全球有记录以来最大的一次，打破了1996年西澳州320头鲸鱼搁浅的全澳纪录。

The stranding, one of the largest ever recorded globally, eclipses a previous national record of 320 set in Western Australia in 1996.

Rescue efforts to save whales stranded on a sandbar take place at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 22, 2020. Picture taken September 22, 2020.   Brodie Weeding/Pool via REUTERS

鲸鱼是在哪里被发现的？

这些鲸鱼大多被冲到麦格里海德地区附近水域的沙滩上。

The whales largely washed up on sand spits in the waters around an area called Macquarie Heads.

周一，首批救援人员发现了大约270头鲸鱼，但周二一架直升机在附近又发现了200头。

The first rescuers on Monday counted about 270 whales, but a helicopter on Tuesday spotted another 200 whales nearby.

澳大利亚超过80%的鲸鱼搁浅事件发生在塔斯马尼亚州，专家称搁浅事件多发生在麦格里海德。

More than 80% of Australian whale strandings take place in Tasmania and experts say Macquarie Heads is a known hotspot.

塔斯马尼亚州之前发生的最大的一次鲸鱼搁浅事件是在1935年，当时有294头领航鲸搁浅。最近一次大规模搁浅事件是在2009年，当时有大约200头领航鲸搁浅。

Tasmania's previous biggest stranding was in 1935 with 294 pilot whales. Its last mass stranding was in 2009 and involved about 200 pilot whales.

Rescue efforts to save whales stranded on a sandbar take place at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 22, 2020. Picture taken September 22, 2020.   Brodie Weeding/Pool via REUTERS

鲸鱼是如何获救的？

一个由大约60人组成的救援小组用吊索和其他设备将幸存的鲸鱼从沙洲拖出，使它们完全浸没在水中。

A team of about 60 people have used slings and other equipment to help pull the surviving whales off the sand banks so they are fully immersed in water.

一旦鲸鱼得以“重新漂浮”，它们就会被引导回到更深的水域。

Once the whales are "re-floated", they are guided back into deeper waters.

救援人员表示，他们已成功护送50头鲸鱼返回大海。

Rescuers said they had escorted 50 whales back into the sea, which they deemed a "success".

他们补充说，救援工作受到了巨浪的阻碍，巨浪把一些获救的鲸鱼重新冲回到岸边。

Rescue efforts had been hampered by a strong tide which had brought some freed whales back to shore, they added.

Rescue efforts to save whales stranded on a sandbar take place at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 22, 2020. Picture taken September 22, 2020.   Brodie Weeding/Pool via REUTERS

帮助救援行动的渔民汤姆·芒特尼告诉英国广播公司环球频道：“从地理上讲，这是一个相当具有挑战性的地区。内侧是一个真正的港口，所以我们有几艘船和数百人在地面上用吊索吊起鲸鱼。”

"Geographically it's quite a challenging area. It's sort of inside an actual harbour so we've got several boats and hundreds of people on the ground preparing the whales in slings," Tom Mountney, a fisherman helping with the rescue operation, told BBC World Service radio.

“它们非常冷静。很明显，它们中的一些重达几吨，非常强壮，所以救援工作有内在危险。但好像它们知道我们在做什么。”

"They are remarkably calm. Some of them obviously, being a several ton animal, are quite strong so there's inherent danger in dealing with them. But it's as if there's a bit of a sense of them knowing what we're trying to do."

鲸鱼专家表示，幸存的鲸鱼将会精疲力竭、虚弱无力。领航鲸可以长到7米长，重达3吨。

Whale experts said the surviving animals would be exhausted and weak. Pilot whales can grow up to 7m long and weigh up to three tonnes.

南十字星大学鲸鱼研究小组的彼得·哈里森教授说，如果没有水的浮力，鲸鱼也会慢慢被身体的重量压垮。

Without the buoyancy of the water, the whales would also be slowly crushed by the weight of their bodies, said Prof Peter Harrison from Southern Cross University's Whale Research Group.

buoyancy [ˈbɔɪənsi]：n. 浮力

Rescue efforts to save whales stranded on a sandbar take place at Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, September 22, 2020. Picture taken September 22, 2020. Brodie Weeding/Pool via REUTERS

为什么鲸鱼会搁浅？

科学家们表示，搁浅原因不明，但有多种理论，包括鲸鱼被鱼引诱上岸并迷失了方向。

Scientists say the reason is often unknown but they have a range of theories, including whales being lured by fish to shore and becoming disorientated.

领航鲸是一种高度群居的哺乳动物，它们以成群搁浅而闻名，因为它们生活在庞大而紧密的群体中，依赖于不断的交流。

Highly social mammals, pilot whales in particular are known for stranding in groups because they travel in large, close-knit communities which rely on constant communication.

研究人员表示，有可能是某头领航的鲸鱼错误地将整个鲸鱼群带到岸边。

Researchers say it's possible that one leading individual could have mistakenly led the whole group to shore.

尽管领航鲸的确切数量还不清楚，但它们并非濒危物种。科学家们认为，全世界大约有100万只长肢领航鲸和20万只短肢领航鲸。

Pilot whales are not considered endangered, although exact population numbers are not known. Scientists believe there are about one million long-finned and 200,000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide.

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来源：中国日报网英语点津  编辑：许雅宁

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