美国国家公共电台 NPR Some Wildlife Photographers Use Bait, But Is It Worth The Shot?

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Have you ever seen one of those amazing wildlife photos of an owl¹ swooping² in - wings stretched out, coming, like, straight at the camera right at you? Well, how in the world did a photographer get that shot? Turns out, they used a mouse. This is called baiting. And Dan Kraker of Minnesota Public Radio says some people do not like this.

DAN KRAKER, BYLINE³: Last month, photographer Michael Furtman was driving along the north shore of Lake Superior in search of great gray owls⁴. Several of the giant owls had flown down from Canada looking for food.

MICHAEL FURTMAN: I knew about this bird on this road here.

KRAKER: And we're standing⁵ right where Furtman spotted⁶ a great gray and also spotted a pair of videographers filming them.

FURTMAN: So I backed off. I was going to just let them have, you know, their time with the bird. And then I saw them run out and put a mouse on the snow.

KRAKER: Predictably, the hungry owl dove down in front of the camera snatching an easy meal. Furtman says he was so angry that he got in his car and drove away. But he soon returned to confront them and film the encounter on his phone. He later posted the video on Facebook.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

FURTMAN: There are a lot of people who would like to photograph this bird hunting. And it's not going to hunt the rest of the day after you stuff it to the gills.

UNIDENTIFIED VIDEOGRAPHER: OK, we understand. And...

KRAKER: It's hard to hear, but she says they're not hurting the bird, although she admits that they're hurting the photographers. Here's what's at issue. Those opposed to feeding say it's unethical and doesn't capture owls behaving naturally. Michael Furtman has made it his mission to fight the practice, confronting people and outing them when they post baited photographs online. James Duncan, an owl expert who directs Manitoba's wildlife and fisheries branch, says the main concern is it can habituate owls to humans.

JAMES DUNCAN: You're essentially⁸ training the owl to lose its fear of humans and associate food with humans, so then they become bolder.

KRAKER: Which, he says, increases the chance they can get hit by a car. But others say there's a lack of evidence showing that owls are being harmed.

TERRY CRAYNE: It's a nasty battle. But as far as I know, there's no data to back up any of the negative.

KRAKER: Terry Crayne is a longtime hobby wildlife photographer in northern Minnesota who admits to using mice to entice⁹ owls.

CRAYNE: Most of the people I know who are against feeding owls are actually feeding deer. The deer are associating humans with food. So which is worse? In my mind, if you are against feeding one animal, you should be against feeding them all.

KRAKER: Photographers here say they began to see widespread owl feeding about a dozen years ago. Michael Furtman says he even tried it but quickly soured on the practice. Still, it worked.

FURTMAN: I mean, I have to admit it's really cool to watch an owl fly in and grab something. You know, how often do you get to see a predator¹⁰ pounce¹¹ on prey¹²?

KRAKER: Advances in digital cameras have attracted a lot more people into wildlife photography. And that's increased the conflicts around owl feeding. Several magazines and photo contests now reject baited shots of owls and other predators¹³, including National Wildlife magazine, where Lisa Moore is editorial director.

LISA MOORE: It's unnatural¹⁴ behavior, and it devalues the hard work of ethical⁷ wildlife photographers who are out there taking the time in the field to wait for that shot.

KRAKER: She says her magazine's goal is to feature ethical, authentic¹⁵ photos not of wildlife in a game farm or lured¹⁶ with bait. For NPR News, I'm Dan Crocker in Duluth, Minn.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOXHOLE'S "LAMENTATION")

1 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

2 swooping   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。
• And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

3 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。

4 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

7 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

10 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

11 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

12 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

13 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

15 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

16 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。