《中英對照讀新聞》World’s largest reindeer herd plummets 全球最大野生馴鹿群數銳減

◎魏國金

The world’s largest wild reindeer herd has fallen by 40% since 2000, scientists have warned.

全球最大的野生馴鹿群自2000年以來已減少40％，科學家警告。

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They say that the animals, which live in the Taimyr Peninsula in the northernmost tip of Russia, are being affected by rising temperatures and human activity. This is causing the animals to change their annual migration patterns.

他們表示，這群生活在俄羅斯最北端泰梅爾半島的動物，遭節節上升的氣溫與人類活動衝擊。導致這些動物改變牠們每年的遷徙模式。

"There is a substantial decline - and we are also seeing this with other wild reindeer declining rapidly in other parts of the world," said Andrey Petrov, who runs the Arctic Centre at the University of Northern Iowa, US.

「（該區野生馴鹿群）大幅減少—我們也看到全球其他地區的野生馴鹿群快速減少。」美國北愛荷華大學北極中心負責人佩特羅夫說。

The Taimyr herd is one of the most monitored groups of reindeer in the world. The animals have been tracked for nearly 50 years by aerial surveys and more recently by satellite imagery.

泰梅爾馴鹿群是全球受到最嚴密監控的馴鹿群之一。透過空中測量以及較晚近的衛星影像等方式，這些動物被追蹤調查近50年。

The population reached a peak of one million in 2000, but this latest research suggests that there are now only 600,000 reindeer.

鹿群數在2000年達到100萬頭的最高點，但最新研究顯示，現在僅剩60萬頭馴鹿。

"Climate change is at least one of the variables," explained Petrov. Industrial development is increasing in the region, which is also changing the animals’ distribution.

「氣候變遷至少是一項變因，」佩特羅夫解釋說。該區的工業日益發展，也逐漸改變馴鹿的分佈。

The researchers found that in the summer, the reindeer were moving east to avoid human activity. But they were also shifting north and to higher elevations.

研究人員發現，馴鹿會在夏季東遷，以規避人類活動。牠們也會往北方和高處遷徙。

新聞辭典

plummet：快速下降、陡然變差。例句：Her popularity has plummeted.（她的名望驟降。）

variable：可變性、可變因素。例句：Have you taken all the variables into account?（你有沒有把所有變因考慮進去？）

elevation：高地、海拔、高度。例句：The elevation of the tower is 50 metres.（這棟大樓高50公尺。）