被关了20年的海龟还能找到“回家”的路吗
今天,和大家分享一只海龟的故事:
两年前,南非开普敦(Cape Town)一家水族馆放生了一只名叫Yoshi的180公斤大海龟,它已经在水族馆生活了20年。科学家在海龟身上安装了卫星追踪装置(satellite tracking device),看它最后会去哪里。
它先去了非洲西部(the west coast of Africa),然后调头横渡印度洋(the Indian Ocean),用了两年时间游到了澳大利亚。总行程37000公里,平均每天前进50公里,这是相当快的速度,应该借助了洋流。
科学家认为,这只海龟是想回到她出生的地方,进行繁殖和筑巢(return to her original hatching site to breed and nest)。在被关了20年之后,她依然记得回家的路。(来源:科技爱好者周刊)
无注释原文:
Loggerhead turtle's journey tracked 37,000km from Cape Town in South Africa to Australia
ABC
An 180 kilogram turtle named Yoshi has excited scientists, who tracked her remarkable journey halfway around the world after she was released from 20 years in captivity.
It's believed the loggerhead turtle may be Australian, after she made a determined 37,000-kilometre swim across the Indian Ocean to a turtle nesting site on Western Australia's Pilbara coastline.
Scientists, who began tracking her journey from Cape Town two years ago, believe Yoshi may have wanted to return to her original hatching site to breed and nest.
Sabrina Fossette, a research scientist from WA's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, said it was very exciting.
"This turtle spent 20 years in captivity and still, you put her in the water and she suddenly remembers she probably has something to do on the other side of the ocean and just starts crossing it," Dr Fossette said.
WA scientists will next week attempt to locate the turtle, to obtain biopsy samples to determine her origin, check her health, and to replace the satellite tracking device, which is nearing the end of its life.
"This satellite has been working for two years but might stop at any time, particularly when the turtle is close to the shore," Dr Fossette said.
Yoshi arrived at Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium after the crew on a Japanese fishing boat found her with a damaged shell.
"They contacted the aquarium to ask if we could please come and fetch this little turtle," aquarium chief executive Maryke Musson said.
"At the time, the aquarium had only been open for two years, so we did not really anticipate keeping sea turtles on display. We did not know all that much, but she crept into everybody's hearts, and settled down really quickly. And she had an enormous personality."
The aquarium staff learned a lot about caring for injured turtles from Yoshi, but soon also started getting requests to help more and more stranded and injured turtles.
Ms Musson said the aquarium had rehabilitated and released more than 600 sea turtles in the past 10 to 12 years.
The aquarium's rehabilitation program was so successful, attention eventually turned to whether Yoshi herself should be released back into the ocean.
By then, she had grown to 180kg with many decades of life still potentially ahead of her.
"She was coming to an age when she was probably sexually mature and we were wondering whether she would actually adjust back to life in the wild," Ms Musson said.
Other large turtles were rehabilitated and released successfully, so the aquarium decided to prepare Yoshi for release — with a strict exercise regime.
Ms Musson said aquarium staff encouraged Yoshi to swim 20m lengths as part of her training.
"Early on, we actually trained her to feed on a target, because she quickly caught on that she was getting food from divers, so she actually started harassing anybody in her big exhibit," she said.
"So by training her on a target, it allowed us to do any sort of investigation, have a quick look at her, give her a health check up, and then of course get her to move around in the exhibit, chasing a target. We actually called it 'Yoshi tennis'."
"We would have two divers in the exhibit, one on either side, and she would swim these lengths, which was 20m across every day for a little treat."
The training continued for 18 months, until December 2017 when, after a farewell party, aquarium staff working with South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs fitted Yoshi with a satellite tag and released her 30 nautical miles off Cape Town.
"[We] put her back in the ocean, waved goodbye, and she swam off," Ms Musson said.
"Since then we've been following her and it's been an incredible journey. We had no idea where she was heading, because of course we had no idea from which loggerhead population she was from."
Yoshi spent her first year swimming up the west coast of Africa, to Angola, before turning around and returning to Cape Town. Then she headed across the Indian Ocean for Australia.
"We are thrilled because of course she's protected over there. There are lots of sea turtles, and it seems as though there is a lot of food for her to eat," Ms Musson said.
"And what's also incredible is the interest — by everybody."
The aquarium contacted the WA Government, and its scientists then started watching Yoshi too.
Currently, Yoshi is just off the Pilbara coast near Point Samson.
"It looks like she might actually be foraging," Dr Fossette said.
"She's been swimming around in a smallish area for two days now and she's very, very close to the coast.
"Now that she's actually stopped we think we can give it a go and try to jump on a boat and try to find her and maybe even catch her."
"We think we will give it a go but we need to be a bit lucky to find her. But who knows?"
Dr Fossette said if Yoshi was an Australian turtle, she was in the right place, close to a known turtle nesting site.
"She's a bit late for this nesting season, so she probably won't nest this year, and anyway after swimming 37,000 kilometres, you probably need to feed a little bit and eat a little bit and put on some weight before laying eggs," she said. "Maybe next next year or the year after."
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含注释全文:
Loggerhead turtle's journey tracked 37,000km from Cape Town in South Africa to Australia
ABC
An 180 kilogram turtle named Yoshi has excited scientists, who tracked her remarkable journey halfway around the world after she was released from 20 years in captivity.
一只重达180公斤的名叫 "Yoshi "的海龟让科学家们兴奋不已,在它从20年的圈养生活中被释放后,科学家们追踪到了它跨越半个地球的非凡旅程。
track
1)表示“跟踪,追踪”,英文解释为“to follow a person or animal by looking for proof that they have been somewhere, or by using electronic equipment”;
2)表示“追踪,记录…的进展”,英文解释为“to record the progress or development of something over a period”举个🌰:
We continued tracking the plane on our radar.
我们继续用雷达追踪那架飞机。
🎬 电影《博物馆奇妙夜3》(Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb)中的台词提到:You're sort of set up to track my phone? You track my phone? 你装定位追踪我的手机?你竟然追踪我的手机?
captivity
in captivity 人工驯养,圈养;captivity表示“监禁;关押;困住;圈养”,英文解释为“the state of being kept as a prisoner or in a confined space”举个🌰:
All the hostages, when released from captivity, looked remarkably fit and well.
人质被释放时看上去居然都很健康。
🎬 电影《侏罗纪世界》(Jurassic World)中的台词提到:You made a genetic hybrid, raised it in captivity. 你们制造出了一头基因混血恐龙 一直封闭圈养。
It's believed the loggerhead turtle may be Australian, after she made a determined 37,000-kilometre swim across the Indian Ocean to a turtle nesting site on Western Australia's Pilbara coastline.
据信,这只海龟可能是澳大利亚的,因为它毅然决然地横渡印度洋,游到了西澳大利亚皮尔巴拉(Pilbara)海岸线的海龟筑巢地,游了3.7万公里。
loggerhead turtle
loggerhead turtle或者直接是loggerhead,一种海龟,叫“红海龟”,英文解释为“a type of turtle (= an animal living in or near water with a thick shell covering its body) that has a very large head”;
补充表达:
📍 at loggerheads (with sb.) (over sth.) 表示“(与某人)不和;相争;严重分歧”,英文解释为“to strongly disagree (with someone)”举个🌰:
The two companies are still at loggerheads over the issue.
两公司依然对这个事争执不下。
🎬 电影《达格南制造》(Made in Dagenham)中的台词提到:that the unions are already at loggerheads with management over. 工会现在已经和管理层剑拔弩张了。
nest
作动词,表示“筑巢;巢居”,英文解释为“to make and use a nest”举个🌰:
Thousands of seabirds are nesting on the cliffs.
成千上万的海鸟在悬崖上筑巢。
a nesting site
筑巢区;营巢区
🎬 电影《蝙蝠侠:侠影之谜》(Batman Begins)中的台词提到:They nest somewhere in the grounds. 它们的巢穴一定在地底。
Scientists, who began tracking her journey from Cape Town two years ago, believe Yoshi may have wanted to return to her original hatching site to breed and nest.
科学家们两年前从开普敦开始追踪她的旅程,他们认为她可能是想回到最初的孵化地去繁殖和筑巢。
注:Cape Town 开普敦,南非首都。
hatch
1)作动词,表示“使孵出;孵出”,英文解释为“When a baby bird, insect, or other animal hatches, or when it is hatched, it comes out of its egg by breaking the shell.”举个🌰:
The young disappeared soon after they were hatched.
幼崽孵出后不久就不见了。
2)作名词,表示“(飞机或宇宙飞船的)舱门;(船甲板或飞机底部装货物的)舱口”,英文解释为“an opening or a door in the deck of a ship or the bottom of an aircraft, through which goods to be carried are passed”。
🎬 电影《奇幻森林》(The Jungle Book)中的台词提到:So, when they hatch... the mother bird is fooled. 等小布谷鸟一孵出来 母鸟就傻眼了
Sabrina Fossette, a research scientist from WA's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, said it was very exciting.
来自西澳生物多样性、保护和景观部(Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions)的研究科学家萨布丽娜·福塞特(Sabrina Fossette)表示,这非常令人兴奋。
"This turtle spent 20 years in captivity and still, you put her in the water and she suddenly remembers she probably has something to do on the other side of the ocean and just starts crossing it," Dr Fossette said.
福塞特博士(Dr Fossette)说,“这只海龟在圈养中度过了20年的时间,但是,你把它放回海里,它还是会突然想起自己可能在海洋的另一边有事情要做,于是就开始穿越海洋,”
WA scientists will next week attempt to locate the turtle, to obtain biopsy samples to determine her origin, check her health, and to replace the satellite tracking device, which is nearing the end of its life.
西澳的科学家们将在下周尝试找到这只海龟,获取活检样本以确定它的来源,检查它的健康状况,并更换即将接近使用寿命的卫星追踪装置。
biopsy /ˈbaɪɒpsɪ/
表示“活组织检查(从身体取下细胞或组织进行检验)”,英文解释为“A biopsy is the removal and examination of fluids or tissue from a patient's body in order to discover why they are ill.”
"This satellite has been working for two years but might stop at any time, particularly when the turtle is close to the shore," Dr Fossette said.
“这个卫星追踪装置已经工作了两年,但随时可能停止工作,特别是当海龟靠近海岸时,”福塞特博士(Dr Fossette)说。
Yoshi arrived at Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium after the crew on a Japanese fishing boat found her with a damaged shell.
在日本渔船上的船员发现她的壳受损后,她被送到了开普敦(Cape Town)的两洋水族馆(Two Oceans Aquarium)。
"They contacted the aquarium to ask if we could please come and fetch this little turtle," aquarium chief executive Maryke Musson said.
水族馆首席执行官玛丽·穆森(Maryke Musson)说:“他们联系了水族馆,问我们是否可以来接这只小海龟。”
aquarium
aquarium /əˈkwɛərɪəm/ 表示“水族馆”,英文解释为“An aquarium is a building, often in a zoo, where fish and underwater animals are kept.”
"At the time, the aquarium had only been open for two years, so we did not really anticipate keeping sea turtles on display. We did not know all that much, but she crept into everybody's hearts, and settled down really quickly. And she had an enormous personality."
"当时,水族馆才开馆两年,所以我们并没有真正想到要展出海龟。我们并不太了解,但她引起了大家的注意,并且很快就安顿了下来。而且她个性非常强。"
The aquarium staff learned a lot about caring for injured turtles from Yoshi, but soon also started getting requests to help more and more stranded and injured turtles.
水族馆工作人员学到了很多关于照顾受伤海龟的知识,很快也开始收到越来越多的帮助搁浅和受伤的海龟的请求。
Ms Musson said the aquarium had rehabilitated and released more than 600 sea turtles in the past 10 to 12 years.
穆森女士(Ms Musson)说,在过去的10到12年中,该水族馆已经为600多只海龟进行了康复和放生。
The aquarium's rehabilitation program was so successful, attention eventually turned to whether Yoshi herself should be released back into the ocean.
水族馆的康复计划非常成功,最终人们的注意力转向了是否应将Yoshi她放回海洋。
By then, she had grown to 180kg with many decades of life still potentially ahead of her.
"She was coming to an age when she was probably sexually mature and we were wondering whether she would actually adjust back to life in the wild," Ms Musson said.
Other large turtles were rehabilitated and released successfully, so the aquarium decided to prepare Yoshi for release — with a strict exercise regime.
Ms Musson said aquarium staff encouraged Yoshi to swim 20m lengths as part of her training.
"Early on, we actually trained her to feed on a target, because she quickly caught on that she was getting food from divers, so she actually started harassing anybody in her big exhibit," she said.
catch on
1)表示“懂得;领悟”,英文解释为“If you catch on to something, you understand it, or realize that it is happening.”举个🌰:
He doesn't take hints very easily, but he'll catch on (to what you're saying) eventually.
他不太会察言观色,不过最终还是会明白(你所说的话)的。
2)表示“变得流行;变得受欢迎”,英文解释为“If something catches on, it becomes popular. 流行”举个🌰:
I wonder if the game will ever catch on with young people?
我想知道这个游戏会不会在年轻人当中流行开来?
🎬 电影《复仇者联盟2:奥创纪元》(Avengers: Age of Ultron)中的台词提到:You'll catch on, 你会跟上我思路的。
"So by training her on a target, it allowed us to do any sort of investigation, have a quick look at her, give her a health check up, and then of course get her to move around in the exhibit, chasing a target. We actually called it 'Yoshi tennis'."
"We would have two divers in the exhibit, one on either side, and she would swim these lengths, which was 20m across every day for a little treat."
The training continued for 18 months, until December 2017 when, after a farewell party, aquarium staff working with South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs fitted Yoshi with a satellite tag and released her 30 nautical miles off Cape Town.
tag
熟词僻义,常见含义表示“标签”,英文解释为“A tag is a small piece of card or cloth which is attached to an object or person and has information about that object or person on it. ”
此处指的是“(电子)跟踪器”,英文解释为“An electronic tag is a device that is firmly attached to someone or something and sets off an alarm if that person or thing moves away or is removed.”
nautical /ˈnɔːtɪkəl/
表示“航海的”,英文解释为“Nautical means relating to ships and sailing.”如:a nautical chart 航海图,nautical mile 海里。
"[We] put her back in the ocean, waved goodbye, and she swam off," Ms Musson said.
"Since then we've been following her and it's been an incredible journey. We had no idea where she was heading, because of course we had no idea from which loggerhead population she was from."
population
熟词僻义,表示“人口”大家都知道,此处意思是“(某种)种群;人群”,英文解释为“If you refer to a particular type of population in a country or area, you are referring to all the people or animals of that type there.”如:areas with a large black population有大批黑人群体的的各地区。
Yoshi spent her first year swimming up the west coast of Africa, to Angola, before turning around and returning to Cape Town. Then she headed across the Indian Ocean for Australia.
"We are thrilled because of course she's protected over there. There are lots of sea turtles, and it seems as though there is a lot of food for her to eat," Ms Musson said.
thrilled
thrilled /θrɪld/ 表示“狂喜的;非常兴奋;极为激动”,英文解释为“If someone is thrilled, they are extremely happy and excited about something.”举个🌰:
He was thrilled at the prospect of seeing her again.
他一想到将要再次见到她便欣喜若狂。
"And what's also incredible is the interest — by everybody."
The aquarium contacted the WA Government, and its scientists then started watching Yoshi too.
Currently, Yoshi is just off the Pilbara coast near Point Samson.
"It looks like she might actually be foraging," Dr Fossette said.
forage
表示“(动物)觅食;搜寻”,英文解释为“When animals forage, they search for food.”举个🌰:
The pigs foraged in the woods for acorns.
那些猪在树林里找橡果吃。
"She's been swimming around in a smallish area for two days now and she's very, very close to the coast.
"Now that she's actually stopped we think we can give it a go and try to jump on a boat and try to find her and maybe even catch her."
give sth a go
give it a go等同于give it a try,表示“尝试,试做;试一试”,英文解释为“to attempt something”举个🌰:
Only a few people are successful as professional athletes, but it's worth giving it a go.
只有极少数职业运动员能取得成功,但是却很值得去尝试一下。
🎬 电影《再见,克里斯托弗·罗宾》(Goodbye Christopher Robin)中的台词提到:Well, give it a go. Only be careful. 去试试,小心就好。
"We think we will give it a go but we need to be a bit lucky to find her. But who knows?"
Dr Fossette said if Yoshi was an Australian turtle, she was in the right place, close to a known turtle nesting site.
"She's a bit late for this nesting season, so she probably won't nest this year, and anyway after swimming 37,000 kilometres, you probably need to feed a little bit and eat a little bit and put on some weight before laying eggs," she said. "Maybe next next year or the year after."
put on
表示“长胖,体重增加”,英文解释为“If people or animals put weight on, they become heavier.”举个🌰:
I'd expected to put weight on, but I didn't.
我以为我体重会增加,不过没有。
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