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The Americas
美洲
Protecting Wild Lives: Stand your ground beef
保護(hù)野生動物：堅守立“場”
Cows that are good at self-defense are also good for jaguars.
能自衛(wèi)的牛也能抵御美洲豹。
Ranchers in Colombia's Meta department can be vengeful folk.
哥倫比亞梅塔省的農(nóng)場主們有時候是群記仇的家伙。
From time to time jaguars emerge from a clump of forest, streak across the savannah and attack one of a panic-stricken herd of cows.
美洲豹時常從叢林深處沖出來，飛快地穿過大草原去襲擊一群驚慌失措的牛。
When that happens, ranchers hunt the offender down and shoot it.
當(dāng)這種情況發(fā)生的時候,農(nóng)場主們會追捕這些入侵者并射殺它們。
That practice is endangering the cats' survival.
但是這種行為卻使得美洲豹的生存受到威脅。
Panthera, a charity that manages “corridors” for jaguars that stretch from Argentina to Mexico, guesses that just 5,000 of the cats are left in los llanos, Colombia's scorching savannah.
潘瑟拉是一個專管美洲豹從阿根廷到墨西哥這個“廊道”的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，據(jù)他們猜測，大概僅有5000只美洲豹還存留在哥倫布亞灼熱的大草原上。
It has come up with a less violent way of protecting both the jaguars and the cattle.
他們提出了一個不那么暴力的方法來同時保護(hù)美洲豹和牛群。
The idea is to teach cattle self-defense, or rather to breed the instinct into them.
這個點子就是教會牛去自衛(wèi)，要不就給它們培養(yǎng)這樣的本能。
The cows that graze in los llanos are mostly Zebu, which are popular with ranchers for their fast growth, large size and white hides.
在拉美大草原上放牧的大多數(shù)都是瘤牛，它們由于成長快、體型大、毛皮白，很受牧場主歡迎。
But they have an unfortunate habit of fleeing in all directions when danger approaches.
但是它們有一個壞習(xí)慣：當(dāng)危險來臨時，這些瘤牛會四散而逃。
Panthera's idea is to replace panicky Zebu with cattle that stand their ground, or to interbreed the two.
潘瑟拉的想法是把容易受驚的瘤牛換成堅守陣地的品種，或者把二者雜交。
Esteban Payán, who directs Panthera's operations in northern South America, chose San Martineros, a little-known subspecies of Criollo cattle descended from Spanish fighting bulls.
埃斯特班·巴楊管理潘瑟拉在南美洲北部的運營，他選擇了圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛，它是克里奧羅牛的一支鮮為人知的亞種，而克里奧羅牛是西班牙斗牛的后代。
Few jaguars dare to challenge a massed group of 500kg (1,100-pound) San Martineros, their horns levelled.
少有美洲豹敢于招惹一大群五百公斤（約一千一百磅）、雙角水平的圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛。
Docile with humans, they are fierce defenders of territory and their young.
它們馴服于人，卻會兇狠地保衛(wèi)自己的領(lǐng)地及幼犢。
Mr Payán recounts that San Martineros chased away a puma before it could eat a capybara it had killed in their paddock.
巴楊講述道，有一次，圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛攆跑了一只美洲獅，而它剛在圍場里捕殺了一只水豚還沒來得及吃。
Eugenics seems to work.
優(yōu)生學(xué)似乎起作用了。
Since 2012 Mr Payán has been working with Eduardo Enciso, a rancher in Meta, who already had some San Martinero cattle.
自2012年巴楊便與愛德華多·恩西索一起共事，恩西索是梅塔的大牧場主，并且擁有幾頭圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛。
Mr Enciso reports that both purebred San Martinero cows and the offspring of Zebus that have been inseminated by San Martinero bulls do indeed stick together when jaguars approach.
Enciso先生說道，當(dāng)美洲虎向圣馬丁內(nèi)斯純種牛以及瘤牛的后代（這種牛是圣馬丁內(nèi)斯純種公牛受精而來的）靠近時，這兩種動物會彼此緊靠。
Cattle that are just a quarter San Martinero may be just as brave, says Mr Payán.
巴楊說，哪怕僅有四分之一圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛血統(tǒng)的雜交后代也能和純種圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛一樣勇猛。
No jaguars have attacked cattle on Las Pampas, Mr Enciso's 4,000-hectare ranch, since the programme began, he says.
自從恩西索在他 4000公頃的牧場里開始實行這個項目，美洲豹不敢再襲擊牛。
Zebu-only ranches in the area suffer a dozen attacks a year.
而同地區(qū)僅放牧瘤牛的牧場一年要遭受十幾次美洲豹的襲擊。
Panthera is trying to get other ranchers to adopt the technique, but just four have so far expressed interest.
潘瑟拉正試圖讓其他農(nóng)場主采用這項技術(shù)，但迄今為止，僅有四位對此表示感興趣。
Some contend that smaller San Martinero bulls cannot mount their Zebu cows, though Mr Enciso denies this.
一些人聲稱圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯體型較小的公牛無法與母瘤牛交配，但是恩西索先生否認(rèn)了這一點。
Certainly, there is nothing wrong with their libidos, he says.
它們絕對會產(chǎn)生性沖動，他說。
Perhaps more important, butchers think San Martineros are scrawny and dislike their reddish hue (hybrids can look like either variety or a mix of both).
或許更重要的是，屠夫認(rèn)為圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛骨瘦如柴，也不喜歡它們的發(fā)紅的毛皮（雜種的外觀可能繼承雙親中的一方，也可能是二者的混合）。
Mr Enciso insists that San Martinero meat is more delicious than that of purebred Zebu.
恩西索堅稱，圣馬爾蒂內(nèi)若斯牛的肉比純種瘤牛的更美味。
If diners develop a taste for it, perhaps fewer jaguars will be shot.
如果食客開發(fā)了新的味蕾，被擊殺的美洲豹的數(shù)量可能會減少。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
