VOA标准英语2015--海滩上发现大量饥饿的加州海狮幼崽

Large Numbers of Starving California Sea Lion Pups Found on Beaches 海滩上发现大量饥饿的加州海狮幼崽

SAN DIEGO—

Since the beginning of the year, unusually large numbers of California sea lion pups have been found on the beaches of Southern and Central California.  The animals are starving and stranded¹ on the beaches.  As scientists investigate this phenomenon, rescue workers along the coast are trying to save these pups.

Animal rescuers like Mark Bressler have been working non-stop since the beginning of the year.

“We’re coming in 10 animals a day average, to try to save the lives of hundreds of California sea lion pups," said Bressler.

“This is kind of like a mass casualty² accident on a freeway kind of scenario³. We’re trying to triage the ones that we can we know have the best survival⁴ and really more forward. And unfortunately euthanize the ones that we can’t treat effectively," said veterinarian Todd Schmitt.

Schmitt says the pups have up to a 70 percent survival rate once they arrive at SeaWorld San Diego.  It is one of several animal rescue operations that are trying to nurse the pups back to health.  Schmitt describes how a rescuer slides a tube into a pup’s stomach three times a day before it can eat solid food.

“She’s pouring medication down in the tube that’s to kind of prime and then she’ll place the dosing syringe on the tube and inject the formula, so the animal is getting medicated and a meal all at the same time," he said.

Rescuers along the coast have been seeing unusually large numbers of starving California sea lion pups, stranded on beaches because they are just too weak to swim.  So far this year, some 2000 pups have been found, most of them in Southern California. More than 500 have been brought to the critical care unit at SeaWorld.

“They really are a bag of bones when they come to shore so they’re extremely dehydrated, malnourished, they haven’t eaten for days to weeks, some of these animals," said Schmitt.

Many of the pups look skeletal.  Schmitt says they are seven to eight months old but are still almost near their birth weight. They should be three times heavier.  The pups have eaten things they shouldn’t because they are so hungry.  

“We’ve seen rocks, sand, we’ve seen crabs⁵, we’ve seen sting⁶ rays that these animals are trying to ingest. We had an animal for example with a sting ray tail hanging out of its mouth because it was so desperate to eat," he said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁷ Administration, the total number of pups found on the beaches in January and February alone is 20 times the average stranding⁸ rate.  

Scientists say unusual wind patterns caused a warming of the ocean water on the west coast, including the area around  Southern California's Channel Islands, where many sea lions are born. The warm water is pushing the sardines⁹, anchovies¹⁰ and other fish the animals prey¹¹ on away from shore, forcing the mothers to dive deeper or travel farther to find food. NOAA's Justin Greenman says that means leaving their pups for longer periods of time.

“Everyday that she’s gone it’s thinking, well maybe I can do this on my own, i’m so hungry I have to go do something. That’s what we’re seeing those animals coming to shore," said Greenman.

Scientists are monitoring both ocean conditions on North America's west coast and El Ni?o to see how they affect the entire eco-system.   If El Ni?o becomes stronger and lasts until the end of 2015, it is likely to create conditions that will cause West Coast waters to stay warm for at least another year. And that could spell trouble for next year's pups.

So far, SeaWorld San Diego alone has returned more than 75 of them back into the ocean, in areas where there is abundant food

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 casualty   

n.严重伤亡事故，伤亡人员，受害者

参考例句：

• Mr.Jones was the first casualty of the firm's cut-backs.琼斯先生在公司裁员中是第一个受害者。
• Casualty lists were published the day after the train accident.伤亡名单在火车意外事故的第二天就公布了。

3 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

4 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

5 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sting   

vt.激怒，刺痛，刺伤，蛰伤；n.刺痛，刺伤

参考例句：

• Most flies do not sting.大多数苍蝇不叮人。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

7 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

8 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

9 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

10 anchovies   

n. 鯷鱼，凤尾鱼

参考例句：

• a pizza topped with cheese and anchovies 奶酪鳀鱼比萨饼
• Pesto, mozzarella, parma ham, sun dried tomatoes, egg, anchovies. 核桃香蒜，马苏里拉，巴马火腿，干番茄，鸡蛋，咸鱼。

11 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。