瀕臨滅絕的黑犀牛寶寶平安夜在密歇根動物園出生

瀕臨滅絕的黑犀牛寶寶平安夜在密歇根動物園出生

Early in the morning on Christmas Eve, a baby black rhino was born at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan. The baby boy, who has not yet been named by humans, seems to be healthy and bonding well with his mother, according to zoo officials.

圣誕前夜的清晨，一只小黑犀牛在密歇根州蘭辛的波特公園動物園出生了。據(jù)動物園工作人員介紹，這名尚未被人類命名的男嬰看起來很健康，和媽媽的關(guān)系也很好。

Photo: Potter Park Zoo

First-time mother Doppsee gave birth at 5:40 a.m. on Dec. 24, and her calf stood up for the first time about 90 minutes later, the zoo announced in a blog post. He began nursing by 9 a.m., and continues to nurse frequently.

動物園在一篇博文中宣布，12月24日凌晨5點40分，多普西首次產(chǎn)下幼崽，大約90分鐘后，它第一次站了起來。他上午9點開始哺乳，并繼續(xù)頻繁哺乳。

The calf's father, Phineus, came to Potter Park Zoo from Texas in 2017, according to the zoo, which notes he was brought to Michigan specifically to breed with Doppsee.

據(jù)動物園介紹，這只幼崽的父親菲尼厄斯2017年從德克薩斯州來到波特公園動物園，動物園稱它是專門被帶到密歇根與多普西交配的。

Veterinarians and other zoo staff watched the delivery via video feed from a tent outside the "rhino barn" where Doppsee gave birth, then gave the pair a few hours together before going in to check on them.

獸醫(yī)和動物園的其他工作人員在“犀牛倉”外的一個帳篷里通過視頻觀看了多普西的分娩過程，多普西在那里生下了小犀牛。

"As this is Doppsee's first pregnancy, the animal care and veterinary staff will continue to monitor Doppsee and her calf closely in the next few weeks," Potter Park Zoo veterinarian Ronan Eustace said in a statement. "But so far, the rhino calf appears healthy and we have observed frequent nursing shortly after the birth, which is encouraging."

波特公園動物園的獸醫(yī)羅南·尤斯塔斯在一份聲明中說:“由于這是多普西首次懷孕，動物護理和獸醫(yī)工作人員將在今后幾周內(nèi)繼續(xù)密切監(jiān)視多普西和她的幼崽。”“但到目前為止，小犀?？雌饋砗芙】担覀冇^察到它出生后不久就頻繁哺乳，這是令人鼓舞的。”

The mother and son are still bonding behind the scenes in the rhino barn, according to the zoo, and since rhinos are not adapted for Michigan winters, they'll remain out of public view until the spring. But that doesn't mean we have to wait till then for news — the zoo staff has promised to share regular updates, photos and videos on social media and the zoo's blog.

根據(jù)動物園的說法，母子倆在犀牛棚的幕后仍然親密無間，而且由于犀牛不適應(yīng)密歇根的冬天，它們要到春天才會出現(xiàn)在公眾視線之外。但這并不意味著我們必須等到那個時候才能得到消息——動物園的工作人員已經(jīng)承諾在社交媒體和動物園的博客上定期分享更新照片和視頻。

'A monumental moment'

“一個值得紀(jì)念的時刻”

Black rhinos are one of the five rhinoceros species alive today, and the smaller of the two native to Africa. Their natural habitat stretches across much of southern and eastern Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They are a critically endangered species, still struggling to recover from a population crash last century, which saw their numbers fall from about 100,000 in 1960 to about 2,500 in 1995.

黑犀牛是現(xiàn)存的五種犀牛之一，是兩種原產(chǎn)于非洲的犀牛中體型較小的一種。它們的自然棲息地橫跨非洲南部和東部的大部分地區(qū)，包括肯尼亞、坦桑尼亞、納米比亞、南非和津巴布韋。它們是一種極度瀕危的物種，仍在努力從上個世紀(jì)的數(shù)量銳減中恢復(fù)過來。上個世紀(jì)，它們的數(shù)量從1960年的約10萬只下降到1995年的約2500只。

There were once as many as 850,000 black rhinos in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but their population plummeted during the 19th and 20th centuries due to relentless hunting and land clearing for settlement and farming. The species has fared better in recent years, with its wild population now up to more than 5,000. That's still low, however, and black rhinos continue to face threats from poaching as well as war and civil unrest among humans.

根據(jù)國際自然保護聯(lián)盟(IUCN)的數(shù)據(jù)，野生黑犀牛曾經(jīng)多達85萬頭，但在19世紀(jì)和20世紀(jì)期間，由于不斷的捕獵和為定居和耕作而進行的土地清理，黑犀牛的數(shù)量直線下降。近年來，該物種的情況有所好轉(zhuǎn)，其野生種群數(shù)量現(xiàn)已超過5000只。然而，這個數(shù)字仍然很低，黑犀牛繼續(xù)面臨著偷獵、戰(zhàn)爭和人類內(nèi)部動蕩的威脅。

The new calf is the first black rhino born in the 100-year history of the Potter Park Zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participates in the AZA's Species Survival Plan, a program designed to ensure the survival and genetic diversity of endangered wildlife at zoos and aquariums. Fewer than 60 black rhinos currently live at AZA-accredited zoos.

新出生的牛犢是波特公園動物園百年歷史上誕生的第一頭黑犀牛。這頭黑犀牛獲得動物園和水族館協(xié)會(AZA)的認(rèn)證，并參加了AZA的《南方物種》維瓦爾計劃，一個旨在確保瀕危野生動物在動物園和水族館的生存和遺傳多樣性的計劃。目前在AZA認(rèn)證的動物園生活的黑犀牛不到60頭。

"This is a monumental moment for Potter Park Zoo that has taken our staff years of planning and hard work," said zoo director Cynthia Wagner. "We are dedicated to conserving rhinos and couldn't be more excited about this successful black rhino birth."

動物園園長辛西婭·瓦格納說:“對于波特公園動物園來說，這是一個具有紀(jì)念意義的時刻，我們的工作人員花了多年的時間來計劃和努力工作。”“我們致力于保護犀牛，對于這頭黑犀牛的成功出生，我們感到無比興奮。”