密歇根新闻广播 麋鹿返回密歇根已100年

The elk¹ is an important Michigan symbol. It's even on our state flag. But have you ever seen an elk in the wild in Michigan? Did you even know there are elk in Michigan?

Michigan elk were wiped out in the 19th century. Clear cutting the forests removed their habitat. Market hunting, that is, hunting to sell the meat to restaurants, butchers, and homes did the rest by about 1875.

"Habitat changed quickly and animals were harvested without any limit because back at that time there were no protections on any type of wildlife," said Katie Keen with the Department of Natural Resources.

Eventually, some conservationists got together to try to restore elk to Michigan.

"A hundred years ago in 1918 seven elk were brought from the western United States to Michigan," Keen said.

Today there are nearly 1200 elk in and around Pigeon River Country State Forest nearGaylord. (Here's an article from the DNR celebrating the centennial of the return of elk.)

We packed up recording² equipment and cameras to search for elk. We had two days.

On the first morning, we ran into Clem Kassuba. He's an elk hunting guide. He saidoutside of dawn and dusk, it's hard to find them. He did know of a place where there would be a better chance of seeing elk than simply waiting around at the roadside observation point.

A hike into the forest led to a little rise which overlooked³ two large clearings. We would be able to see elk coming from at least two different directions. We set up the equipment and waited. And waited.

The sun set. Nothing but crickets⁴. No elk on day one. We did see a lot of evidence of elk including hoof⁵ prints and elk droppings.

Clem Kassuba, the hunting guide, had told us something that was surprising. He'd never hunted elk himself.

"Oh, I'm a hunter, but I've never hunted elk. I never got a permit yet."

He applies every year. He has applied⁶ for a permit for 35 years. No luck.

There are nearly 50,000 applications for an elk permit each year. Only Michigan residents can apply. A weighted lottery⁷ is held for 200 permits. People who've applied over and over again have a better chance. Still, it's the luck of the draw.

Katie Keen says more opportunities are available this year than is traditional becauseat a population of 1200 the elk are beyond the target of 500 to 900 animals.

"When a population gets too high and it's not managed, there can be a lot of bad feelings created," she said.

You know what a deer can do to a garden, right? Think of an animal two to four times bigger than a deer foraging⁸. Then remember elk gather in herds⁹. They can do a lot of damage to crops. That's why the DNR plants its own crops in the state forest. It's an attempt to keep the elk within the boundaries of the forest.

On day two we met two couples at the observation site by the road. Ed Curran askedwhat we were up to? They had some cameras with long lenses in the front seat of their Toyota Land Cruiser. Watching elk is a hobby of theirs.

"We've been camping over by Pickerell Lake probably for 20 years. About three weeks ago, we saw 14 large bulls¹⁰ in that viewing area," Curran said, adding a little encourgement by saying, "They're around here. They got to be around here somewhere."

We set up at dawn. No elk. Searched trails in the woods. No elk. Set up again atdusk. No elk.

It was time to pack up and head home with no elk sighting.

Just then, something caught our eye. It was getting dark, but looking through the camera's telescopic lens we could see it. An elk! A juvenile¹¹, but a real live in the wild Michigan elk.

We took a lot of photos as the elk grazed¹² along the edge of the forest for about ten minutes. It never got closer than about 150 yards, but it was just nice to finally see one.

If you want to see elk, viewing at the Pigeon River Country State Forest gets better during September and October. Here's a guide put out by the DNR.

1 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 overlooked   

v.忽视( overlook的过去式和过去分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• He seems to have overlooked one important fact. 他好像忽略了一个重要的事实。
• This is a minor point, but it must not be overlooked. 此事虽小，然亦不可忽视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 crickets   

n.蟋蟀( cricket的名词复数 )；板球

参考例句：

• The crickets stridulated their everlasting monotonous meaningful note. 蟋蟀发出了它们持久的，单调而有意思的调子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。 来自辞典例句

5 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

8 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

9 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

10 bulls   

n.公牛( bull的名词复数 )；法令；力大如牛的人；（象、鲸等动物的）雄兽

参考例句：

• Riding bulls is always an exciting event at a rodeo. 骑公牛总是放牧人竞技会上激动人心的表演。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast was held. 献祭了两头白牛，并举行了盛宴。 来自辞典例句

11 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

12 grazed   

v.（让动物）吃草( graze的过去式和过去分词 )；轻擦，擦破；擦过；掠过

参考例句：

• I grazed my knee when I fell. 我摔了一跤，把膝盖擦破了。
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》