【英语时差8,16】海獭之病（下）

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan that is fatal to otters¹ if it’s ingested. They may be getting in it from the shellfish they eat, or just drink it in sea water. The most likely explanation is housecats. Cats shed live toxoplasma eggs in their scat, which then washes downstream until it reaches the places where otters live. Not only is this bad for otters, it also shows us that pollution of the water is going on in ways we hadn’t anticipated, which means if we don’t clean up now, there may be some more surprises down the road–such as what effect these protozoans might have on humans, since they are harmful to us too.

1 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网