国家地理 小鲸鱼错认游艇为母

Animal Conservationists in Australia expressed concern on Tuesday

澳大利亚动物保护主义者周二表示担忧，

that a lost humpback whale calf¹ separated from its mother could die within days,

一头离开母亲的失踪小鲸鱼可能几天之内就会死亡，

unless it finds its own mother or another mother to adopt it.

除非能找到自己的母亲或者其他母亲收养。

The calf believed to be one or two months old was first sighted on Sunday in waters off north Sydney.

这只小鲸鱼周日首次在悉尼北部水域露面，大约只有一两个月大。

It's been attempting to suckle from various yachts in the harbor since Monday.

从周一开始，它就试图让港口不同的游艇来哺乳。

"Um I think that its mother has rejected it and its, and the mother's moved on."

“我认为可能是它妈妈不要它了，把它丢了然后妈妈自己走了。”

Other experts suggest its mother may have died and the calf may be an orphan².

其他专家解释说，可能是它母亲死亡，这只小鲸鱼可能是孤儿。

According to Mackintosh, rescuers towed one yacht out to sea and the calf finally detached from the boat,

根据Mackintosh所说，救援人员将游艇从港口拖到海上，小鲸鱼被迫分离。

but it returned to an inlet near Sydney on Tuesday morning.

但是，周二上午，它又回到了悉尼海湾。

"It's, it's moved back in here. Um…it's still showing a suckling habit.

“它又回到了这里，还是表现出了哺乳的习惯。

It's quietly going around from boat to boat, which confirms that it is a young calf and probably still was suckling and relying on its mother."

它静静地从一艘船游到另一艘船，这证明它是一只幼鲸，还在哺乳阶段，还必须依靠母亲生活。”

Officials said hand feeding would be impossible and they believed the calf's only chance was to find another female whale to accept it.

相关官员表示，人工喂养行不通，他们相信，这只小鲸鱼唯一的机会就是找到另外一只母鲸来接受它。

"The calf really needs its mum's milk. It's a desperate situation for that young calf without its mother's milk."

“这只小鲸鱼的确需要母乳喂养。一只幼小的鲸鱼没有母乳喂养是非常危险的。”

1 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

2 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。