经济学人:优生学 保护野生动物要坚守立"场"

 　　The Americas

　　美洲

　　Protecting Wild Lives: Stand your ground beef

　　保护野生动物：坚守立“场”

　　Cows that are good at self-defense are also good for jaguars¹.

　　能自卫的牛也能抵御美洲豹。

　　Ranchers in Colombia's Meta department can be vengeful folk.

　　哥伦比亚梅塔省的农场主们有时候是群记仇的家伙。

　　From time to time jaguars emerge from a clump³ of forest, streak⁴ across the savannah and attack one of a panic-stricken herd⁵ of cows.

　　美洲豹时常从丛林深处冲出来，飞快地穿过大草原去袭击一群惊慌失措的牛。

　　When that happens, ranchers hunt the offender⁶ down and shoot it.

　　当这种情况发生的时候,农场主们会追捕这些入侵者并射杀它们。

　　That practice is endangering the cats' survival.

　　但是这种行为却使得美洲豹的生存受到威胁。

　　Panthera, a charity that manages “corridors” for jaguars that stretch from Argentina to Mexico, guesses that just 5,000 of the cats are left in los llanos, Colombia's scorching⁷ savannah.

　　潘瑟拉是一个专管美洲豹从阿根廷到墨西哥这个“廊道”的慈善机构，据他们猜测，大概仅有5000只美洲豹还存留在哥伦布亚灼热的大草原上。

　　It has come up with a less violent way of protecting both the jaguars and the cattle.

　　他们提出了一个不那么暴力的方法来同时保护美洲豹和牛群。

　　The idea is to teach cattle self-defense, or rather to breed the instinct into them.

　　这个点子就是教会牛去自卫，要不就给它们培养这样的本能。

　　The cows that graze in los llanos are mostly Zebu, which are popular with ranchers for their fast growth, large size and white hides.

　　在拉美大草原上放牧的大多数都是瘤牛，它们由于成长快、体型大、毛皮白，很受牧场主欢迎。

　　But they have an unfortunate habit of fleeing in all directions when danger approaches.

　　但是它们有一个坏习惯：当危险来临时，这些瘤牛会四散而逃。

　　Panthera's idea is to replace panicky Zebu with cattle that stand their ground, or to interbreed the two.

　　潘瑟拉的想法是把容易受惊的瘤牛换成坚守阵地的品种，或者把二者杂交。

　　Esteban Payán, who directs Panthera's operations in northern South America, chose San Martineros, a little-known subspecies of Criollo cattle descended⁸ from Spanish fighting bulls.

　　埃斯特班·巴杨管理潘瑟拉在南美洲北部的运营，他选择了圣马尔蒂内若斯牛，它是克里奥罗牛的一支鲜为人知的亚种，而克里奥罗牛是西班牙斗牛的后代。

　　Few jaguars dare to challenge a massed group of 500kg (1,100-pound) San Martineros, their horns levelled.

　　少有美洲豹敢于招惹一大群五百公斤（约一千一百磅）、双角水平的圣马尔蒂内若斯牛。

　　Docile⁹ with humans, they are fierce defenders¹⁰ of territory and their young.

　　它们驯服于人，却会凶狠地保卫自己的领地及幼犊。

　　Mr Payán recounts that San Martineros chased away a puma¹¹ before it could eat a capybara it had killed in their paddock.

　　巴杨讲述道，有一次，圣马尔蒂内若斯牛撵跑了一只美洲狮，而它刚在围场里捕杀了一只水豚还没来得及吃。

　　Eugenics seems to work.

　　优生学似乎起作用了。

　　Since 2012 Mr Payán has been working with Eduardo Enciso, a rancher in Meta, who already had some San Martinero cattle.

　　自2012年巴杨便与爱德华多·恩西索一起共事，恩西索是梅塔的大牧场主，并且拥有几头圣马尔蒂内若斯牛。

　　Mr Enciso reports that both purebred San Martinero cows and the offspring of Zebus that have been inseminated by San Martinero bulls do indeed stick together when jaguars approach.

　　Enciso先生说道，当美洲虎向圣马丁内斯纯种牛以及瘤牛的后代（这种牛是圣马丁内斯纯种公牛受精而来的）靠近时，这两种动物会彼此紧靠。

　　Cattle that are just a quarter San Martinero may be just as brave, says Mr Payán.

　　巴杨说，哪怕仅有四分之一圣马尔蒂内若斯牛血统的杂交后代也能和纯种圣马尔蒂内若斯牛一样勇猛。

　　No jaguars have attacked cattle on Las Pampas, Mr Enciso's 4,000-hectare ranch², since the programme began, he says.

　　自从恩西索在他 4000公顷的牧场里开始实行这个项目，美洲豹不敢再袭击牛。

　　Zebu-only ranches¹² in the area suffer a dozen attacks a year.

　　而同地区仅放牧瘤牛的牧场一年要遭受十几次美洲豹的袭击。

　　Panthera is trying to get other ranchers to adopt the technique, but just four have so far expressed interest.

　　潘瑟拉正试图让其他农场主采用这项技术，但迄今为止，仅有四位对此表示感兴趣。

　　Some contend that smaller San Martinero bulls cannot mount their Zebu cows, though Mr Enciso denies this.

　　一些人声称圣马尔蒂内若斯体型较小的公牛无法与母瘤牛交配，但是恩西索先生否认了这一点。

　　Certainly, there is nothing wrong with their libidos¹³, he says.

　　它们绝对会产生性冲动，他说。

　　Perhaps more important, butchers think San Martineros are scrawny and dislike their reddish hue¹⁴ (hybrids can look like either variety or a mix of both).

　　或许更重要的是，屠夫认为圣马尔蒂内若斯牛骨瘦如柴，也不喜欢它们的发红的毛皮（杂种的外观可能继承双亲中的一方，也可能是二者的混合）。

　　Mr Enciso insists that San Martinero meat is more delicious than that of purebred Zebu.

　　恩西索坚称，圣马尔蒂内若斯牛的肉比纯种瘤牛的更美味。

　　If diners develop a taste for it, perhaps fewer jaguars will be shot.

　　如果食客开发了新的味蕾，被击杀的美洲豹的数量可能会减少。

　　1.a clump of 一团；一从

　　例句:On a sheep-cropped knou under a clump of elms we ate the strawberries.

　　我们在榆树下草尖被羊啃掉的小丘上吃草莓。

　　2.chased away 驱逐

　　例句:The sun has chased away the shadows of the night.

　　太阳驱走了黑夜的影子。

　　3.there is nothing wrong with ...没有问题

　　例句:There is nothing wrong with good old cauliflower cheese.

　　这道令人喜爱的芝士菜花没有什么问题。

　　4.so far 迄今为止

　　例句:What have you found so far?

　　你到目前为止发现了什么？

1 jaguars   

n.（中、南美洲的）美洲虎( jaguar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jaguars are largely nocturnal creatures. 美洲虎基本上是夜行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Jaguars (Panthera onca) once ranged from southern South America to theUnited States. 美洲虎曾经分布在北美洲南部和美洲南部。 来自互联网

2 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

3 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

4 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

5 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

6 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

7 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

8 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

9 docile   

adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的

参考例句：

• Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
• He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。

10 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 puma   

美洲豹

参考例句：

• The police and the volunteers combed the forest for the lost puma from the zoo.警察和志愿者们在森林里到处寻找动物园迷失的美洲狮。
• A businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.一位商人去钓鱼，看见那只美洲狮在树上。

12 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

13 libidos   

n.本能冲动，性欲( libido的名词复数 )

参考例句：

14 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。