美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: Florida's python challenge does little to reduce the invasive species impact

Encore: Florida's python challenge does little to reduce the invasive species impact

Transcript¹

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Everglades is filled with pythons. And last week, 950 hunters tried to kill them. The python challenge is a state-sponsored hunt for one of Florida's biggest invasive headaches, the Burmese python. NPR's Greg Allen got a close look.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE²: At a python check station in Miami on the edge of the Everglades, Donna Kalil has just brought in her day's catch, turning it over to Holly³ Andreotta.

HOLLY ANDREOTTA: Where did you find him?

DONNA KALIL: He was close to Burns Lake, right on 41.

ANDREOTTA: Little guy.

KALIL: Yeah, he's a little guy.

ALLEN: This is the time of year that pythons are hatching and leaving the nest. This one is just a few months old but is already over two feet long. Kalil is a professional python hunter, one of about a hundred contractors⁴ paid year-round to find and eliminate the invasive snakes. Last year, she won in the python challenge's professional category, bringing in the most snakes - 19.

KALIL: I knew that I had a set of skills to be able to help. I've been catching⁵ snakes all my life. I'm a herper - from being a kid. My brothers were herpers as well, and I followed in their footsteps.

ALLEN: Kalil is proud of her career total. She's brought in more than 600 pythons so far, working mostly at night, driving along levees and roads in the Everglades in her SUV with a specially⁶ designed python perch⁷ mounted on top.

KALIL: I have two volunteers that sit up there. I have lights all around, and we basically just drive along. You know, once we see a python along the way, you know, somebody yells python. I stop the car, get out, and I sneak⁸ up behind it and grab it by the neck and start wrestling.

ALLEN: Kalil says this is a good time of year to be hunting pythons. She says they're on the move, and you might find a big one crossing a road or a levee.

KALIL: The biggest one I caught was 16 feet. It basically took three of us for a ride. I did grab it by the neck and held on. My friend jumped on the back of it. And we were literally⁹ riding that thing and basically wearing it out until we got it under control. So, yeah, it was a big fight.

ALLEN: Not much is known about how pythons became established in Florida, except that they've been here now for about three decades. In this year's competition, a $10,000 top prize will go to the hunter who brings in the most pythons.

Mike Kirkland, who manages the Python Elimination¹⁰ Program for the South Florida Water Management District, says eliminating them from the environment may no longer be possible.

MIKE KIRKLAND: But I'm very optimistic that we are going to be able to reduce the population enough so that our native wildlife can return.

ALLEN: A major question still not answered about pythons is, how many are there in Florida? They're very difficult to spot in the wild, and most of the several thousand square miles of the Everglades is inaccessible¹¹ except by airboat. Kirkland says human detection and removal has been the most effective way to combat pythons. In some areas near Everglades National Park, rabbits, possums and other small mammals that had been wiped out by the snakes have begun to return.

At the check station, Joaquin Vila has just brought in his catch - another python hatchling. Vila says at least in areas where they can get access, he believes he and other hunters are putting a dent¹² in the python population.

JOAQUIN VILA: The other day we were talking about out here that we saw about eight deer. And some of the other guys that have been out here - they're like, man, I haven't seen that many in a while. So I think it is making a difference.

ALLEN: Between contractors, novice¹³ hunters and the state-sponsored competition, more than 17,000 pythons have been removed over the last 20 years. That could be good news if we had some idea how many pythons were still out there.

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

4 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

7 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

8 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

11 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

12 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

13 novice   

adj.新手的，生手的

参考例句：

• As a novice writer,this is something I'm interested in.作为初涉写作的人，我对此很感兴趣。
• She realized that she was a novice.她知道自己初出茅庐。