2007年VOA标准英语-Many Endangered Seabirds Holding onto Vanishing

By Zulima Palacio
Kauai, Hawaii
22 June 2007
 

Seabirds such as albatross, shearwaters and boobies are extraordinary animals that live at sea for most of their lives.  They fly great distances and seldom come to land to remind us that they still exist.  Little is known about them, except that they are on the way to extinction¹.  Producer Zulima Palacio visited the remote Hawaiian island of Kauai, home to one of the seabirds' last habitats.  Melinda Smith narrates² the story.

The courtship ritual of the Laysan albatross

Once a year, seabirds come to land for two reasons: to mate and to nest one egg. Just one chick a year.  If anything happens to the chick, its parents go back out to sea and stay there until the following year.  For the last several decades, the populations of many seabirds have been in rapid decline. 

Brenda Zaun is the wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Kauai National Wildlife Refuge.

"Kauai itself has probably 70 to 80 percent of all Newell's shearwater in the world, nest on this island,” says Zaun. “Sometimes it is the last piece of habitat for a lot of these species that are getting close to extinction and so we really need to protect them and give them a safe habitat to nest in." 

Zaun works in one of the most beautiful places of Hawaii.  The U.S. established the National Wildlife Refuge at Kilauea Point in 1985 for the preservation³ of seabirds, green turtles and monk⁴ seals, as well as the island's historic lighthouse.   Several species of seabirds have made a long strip of cliffs one of their last habitats in the Pacific. 

Zaun says the efforts to recover the birds' diminished populations are starting to pay off with the growth of some species. But it is not easy.  She says for the last 200 years, humans have introduced many animals to the islands that prey⁵ on the seabirds. Park rangers⁶ have fenced off the refuge, and they also have set traps for cats and rats. But the problem continues.

The Hawaiian island of Kauai

"Last year, it was June 30th, it was just before 14 chicks were ready to fledge, ready to leave the island and go to sea, dogs came in and killed all 14 of them," Zaun recalls.

Zaun keeps count of many of the birds that come to the refuge.   She tags many as chicks, such as baby albatrosses. But some come as adults and Zaun has devised ways to capture them.

Besides the albatross, other species also are close to extinction. Zaun says that back in the 1950s, Hawaiian geese, better known as nene, were down to less than 40 animals.

"People drive in and one of the first things they see are Hawaiian geese, and you can take them for granted because here they are all over the place, but really, we estimate there is only 16 or 1700 left in the world.  They are that endangered."

Newell's shearwater are not only endangered, they are difficult to study and monitor.  They only come to land after dark and head back out to sea before sunrise.  One pair has been nesting in an accessible place in the refuge for three years now. 

"Until we started putting up this equipment and monitoring just this two pair we didn't really know much about their reproductive behavior.  We didn't even know what their incubation was," explains Zaun. She has installed cameras and electronic monitoring systems.

"I have taken several photographs of a cat looking in this burrow," she points out.

Hawaiian geese, or nene, are close to extinction at 40 animals

Because of the birds' nocturnal comings and goings, most people never see them, except perhaps after they have crashed into power lines and other man-made objects. Some survive at a recovery treatment facility at Kauai Humane⁷ Society.

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Nick Holmes, Kauai's coordinator for recovery of endangered seabirds

Nick Holmes is Kauai's coordinator for recovery of endangered seabirds.  He says the Newell's shearwater is a remarkable⁹ bird that not only can fly across the Pacific, it can also dive 30 meters down into the ocean.

"If you look at the wings, they are quite long and quite narrow. This is what allows the bird to glide¹⁰, and allows the bird to travel such long distances at sea," says Holmes.

Back at the refuge, Brenda Zaun continues her watch over the seabirds. The Kauai National Wildlife Refuge closes its doors to tourists by late afternoon. By then it is time for the birds to return and feed their chicks or start another courtship ritual.  This is Zaun's happiest time.

"My favorite time of the day is dawn and sunset when the wildlife is really out. In the evening, the nene comes and roost in here. It's a very different place at night," says Zaun.

1 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

2 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

3 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

4 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

5 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

6 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

7 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。