美国国家公共电台 NPR When Their Food Ran Out, These Reindeer Kept Digging

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Reindeer¹ populations are being threatened by climate change. A warming world makes their main winter food source disappear. But as KUCB's Zoe Sobel reports, reindeer on one Alaskan island are surprising researchers.

ZOE SOBEL, BYLINE²: You'd think it'd be easy to spot a herd³ of 400 reindeer on a treeless island with tundra⁴ as far as the eye can see, but it's not.

LAUREN DEVINE: Yeah, they were right here.

SOBEL: That's Lauren Devine of the Ecosystem⁵ Conservation Office. She helps manage the reindeer on St. Paul Island. Though on this windy day, she's hunting them. So far, no luck. Then a man who works in this remote area approaches our truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Hey, you guys looking for the reindeer?

DEVINE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You see that green patch right there?

DEVINE: Yep.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They were just past it.

DEVINE: When?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: About two hours ago.

DEVINE: Oh, perfect.

SOBEL: Reindeer aren't native to Alaska. They were brought to rural villages across the state in the late 1800s. In communities like St. Paul, where grocery prices are astronomical⁶, Devine says residents depend on reindeer to feed their families. And to make it through the winter, the reindeer need something, too.

DEVINE: Reindeer all over the world depend on lichen⁷. They're very high in sugars and starch⁸, and they're considered, like, a Snickers bar for reindeer in the winter.

SOBEL: But the reindeer ate the lichen here faster than it could regrow, and now it's gone. Without lichen, reindeer experts would expect to see malnourished or starving animals. In some places, that's already happening. But the animals on St. Paul are thriving. Greg Finstad is with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Reindeer Research Program. He came to study and evaluate the island's reindeer and environment. On a visit to St. Paul Island last year, he saw something he'd never witnessed before.

GREG FINSTAD: That the reindeer are doing something really very interesting. They have managed to find other things to eat. They've gone underground.

SOBEL: Finstad discovered instead of lichen, the reindeer are digging up roots and grazing on grass. He says that's good news. Lichens⁹ thrive in Arctic climates, but the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe. These higher temperatures mean more wildfires, erratic¹⁰ rainfall and better conditions for other plants that can crowd out the lichen. All of this could mean less lichen for reindeer.

Plus, a warmer climate means what used to be snow is now rain. In Russia a few years ago, that created an icy barrier so thick the reindeer couldn't stamp through it to get to the lichen. Tens of thousands starved to death. That's why Finstad thinks it's important that the reindeer in St. Paul are finding something else to eat.

FINSTAD: There's a lot of scientists, researchers, reindeer producers waving their arms in the world. Oh, climate change, it's the death of reindeer and caribou¹¹. But you know what? We have forgotten to tell the reindeer and caribou. Things change, and they change with it.

MARK BOYCE: I would say no.

SOBEL: Ecology professor Mark Boyce of the University of Alberta is not convinced.

BOYCE: (Laughter) In the - I mean, it's an island population and a very small sample of our global populations of reindeer and caribou. And the general pattern has been one of decline, so I guess I'm not very optimistic.

SOBEL: Still, on this Alaska island for now, reindeer are doing just fine. And hunting them is more popular than ever. For NPR News, I'm Zoe Sobel in St. Paul.

SIMON: And this report comes from Alaska's Energy Desk, a public media collaboration¹² that's focused on energy and the environment.

(SOUNDBITE OF MIKHAIL SAASKIA'S "LOOKING FOR ALASKA")

1 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

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 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

5 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

6 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

7 lichen   

n.地衣, 青苔

参考例句：

• The stone stairway was covered with lichen.那石级长满了地衣。
• There is carpet-like lichen all over the moist corner of the wall.潮湿的墙角上布满了地毯般的绿色苔藓。

8 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

9 lichens   

n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。 来自辞典例句
• Litmus: Mixture of coloured organic compounds obtained from several species of lichens. 石蕊：从几种地衣类植物中获取的带色有机化合物的混合物。 来自互联网

10 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

11 caribou   

n.北美驯鹿

参考例句：

• Afar off he heard the squawking of caribou calves.他听到远处有一群小驯鹿尖叫的声音。
• The Eskimos played soccer on ice and used balls filled with caribou hair and grass.爱斯基摩人在冰上踢球，他们用的是驯鹿的毛发和草填充成的球。

12 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。