-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
It is after midnight when the windshield fogs up on Thomas Aycock's pickup1 truck. He smiles as he slowly drives through the sawgrass and down dirt roads deep in the Florida Everglades.
His foggy windshield confirms what he knows. When the dew point drops in the middle of the night, it is perfect time for pythons.
"I catch more pythons when that happens," Aycock said. The retired2 U.S. Army veteran always takes part in the Florida Python Challenge. The wildlife commission runs the 10-day event. The aim is to get people interested in finding and catching3 the snakes.
There is a reason for the timing4 of the event. Pythons usually hatch from their eggs each August before finding their way into the swamp.
Aycock works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He has hunted Burmese pythons in the Everglades for 11 years. Aycok loves snakes. And he loves preserving the Everglades. He understands the "greater ecological5 issue with these pythons."
The invasive Burmese pythons are doing very well in Florida's preserved wetlands. Pythons have no natural predators7. And they are threatening Florida's native snakes and mammals. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates tens of thousands live in South Florida.
The snakes are destroying local wildlife. In one 2012 study, the USGS found that populations of raccoons had declined by 99.3 percent, opossums by 98.9 percent and bobcats by 87.5 percent since the early 2000s. Controlling this hungry snake, scientists say, is a critical goal.
More than 600 hunters took part in this year's challenge. Their goal is to beat last year's top total of 209 pythons killed. The hunter who kills the most wins $10,000.
The competition is designed to create understanding about Florida's python problem. It has succeeded in doing that. The event has drawn8 famous people and has led to some reality television shows.
But the need for python control remains9 urgent.
Since 2017, Florida has been paying about 100 contractors11 to catch the snakes year-round. That project is shared by the wildlife agency and the South Florida Water Management District. Through 2023, more than 18,000 pythons have been removed from the wild. Contractors like Aycock have removed about 11,000.
The pay is average. Hunting along backroads pays $13 an hour. Walking through the swamp pays $18 an hour. Contractors also get paid per snake: $50 for the first 1.2 meters in length, plus more for longer snakes.
"You're not going to make a living doing this full-time12. There's no way you could do it," Aycock said.
Florida does not permit hunters to use firearms to kill pythons. Catching them is a hands-on exercise.
Aycock goes into the wetlands to check on known hatching spots and grabs at them when he can. But mostly he drives down empty roads at night, shining a strong light into the swamps.
He says these bug-filled drives help his mental health. Sometimes he brings along fellow members of the Swamp Apes, a mental health non-profit organization for veterans. The group catches invasive snakes in the wild, clears overgrown areas, and works toward environmental preservation13.
The group's founder14, Tom Rahill, is also a snake hunting contractor10. He knows the swamp so well that he can smell a python's "musk15" odor. He says he can feel when a snake is near.
There is an art to catching a snake, the hunters say. The methods change from hunter to hunter. Some use a snake hook and then jump on them before putting them into bags. Rahill likes using his hands -- if the snake is calm enough.
"Instead of jumping on the snake, you just kind of gently get up to it and then just pick it up," he said.
But the snakes are not always calm. Sometimes a hunter needs a helper to keep the snake uncoiled until it calms down and can be contained to prevent escape.
Once the snakes are caught, the hunters have 24 hours to take them to the wildlife agency. It is illegal for any person other than a licensed16 contractor to transport a live, invasive snake.
Aycock takes them home first to be "humanely17 killed."
"That's the part of the job that I really just ... hate," he said. "I hate having to kill snakes."
Words in This Story
fog (up) - v. when small particles of water floating in the atmosphere are near the ground and on surfaces
hatch - v. to emerge from an egg, chrysalis, or pupa
swamp - n. wet spongy land often partly covered with water
invasive - adj. tending to spread especially in a quick or aggressive manner: such as
preserved - v. to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction
predator6 - n. an animal that obtains food mostly by killing18 and eating other animals
native - adj. living or growing naturally in a particular region
contractor - n. a person who contracts to perform work or provide supplies at a certain price or within a certain time
coiled - v. to wind into or lie in loops, rings, or a spiral : uncoiled - v. to unwind from a coil and become straight
licensed - adj. having permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful
收听单词发音 |
1
pickup
|
|
| n.拾起，获得 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
timing
|
|
| n.时间安排，时间选择 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ecological
|
|
| adj.生态的，生态学的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
predator
|
|
| n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
predators
|
|
| n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
contractor
|
|
| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
contractors
|
|
| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
full-time
|
|
| adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
preservation
|
|
| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
musk
|
|
| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
licensed
|
|
| adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
humanely
|
|
| adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索