美国国家公共电台 NPR Coyote In The Crosshairs

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're going to spend some time now talking about two world championships. Now, you've probably heard about the World Cup. It starts this week. And if you haven't, we'll tell you more about it in just a few minutes. But we're guessing you probably haven't heard about the World Championship Coyote Calling Contest. It is a hunting competition. The goal is to kill as many coyotes as possible, and as you can imagine, it's controversial. NPR's Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi went to Spanish Fork, Utah, for the competition, and he filed this report.

ALEXI HOROWITZ-GHAZI, BYLINE¹: This winter, more than 120 hunters gathered for the annual world championship. And from the get-go, it's clear that the organizers are on edge. Here's how they introduce me to the room full of hunters.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: If you're uncomfortable with any question he has, don't answer. He's here on a good-faith basis. If he turns us around and makes us all look bad, then we'll just simply go to his office and beat the [expletive] out of him.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We are a formidable bunch, right?

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: OK, maybe not the warmest welcome. But luckily, my guide to the competition is one of Coyote hunting's greatest evangelists, a guy named Big Al Morris.

AL MORRIS: When they throw dirt on me, all they're going to say is I was a hell of a coyote hunter, you know? (Laughter) And he killed a few elk² along the way, too.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Morris is a tall, gregarious³ guy in his early 50s, describes himself as just a biscuit shy of 300 pounds. He cohosts a TV show called "Furtakers," and he's won the World Coyote Calling Championship a record four times.

MORRIS: None of these guys are here for second place. Everybody wants the title.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Morris's obsession⁴ with coyotes goes all the way back to when he was 17. He was playing around with a friend's hand call, a small instrument used by hunters to lure⁵ in elk and other game. But when Morris heard rustling⁶ from the trees ahead of him, instead of an elk, he found himself staring down a pack of juvenile⁷ coyotes.

MORRIS: They were going to take down whatever it was making that noise. They were going to eat it.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Morris says that, at first, he was terrified. But after the pack ran off, he says he'd found his calling.

MORRIS: That's why I'm on this earth. With this little tiny call that I put in my mouth, I can manipulate a wild animal. I realized I had a gift.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Morris has turned that gift into a livelihood⁸. The week before the competition, Morris and his partner drove over 3,000 miles around the West, mapping out where coyotes live. Contestants⁹ will have a day and a half to hunt as many coyotes as possible. I tag along for a practice hunt. We head out to a vast brush-filled valley in southern Utah. The rancher who owns the land is happy to let Morris hunt predators¹² that might attack his calves¹³. Morris carries a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun and an electronic collar, a field stereo packed with dozens of pre-recorded prey¹⁴ sounds to lure coyotes into shooting range. He sets up his rifle on a small bluff¹⁵ overlooking the valley and presses play on his collar.

(SOUNDBITE OF ELECTRONIC COLLAR CALL)

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: The trick, he says, is to find coyotes that haven't been lured¹⁶ this way before. That can be difficult in Utah, where the government pays hunters a year-round $50 bounty¹⁷ for every coyote killed, part of an effort to boost local deer populations. A few hours later, we begin our drive out of the valley empty-handed. Then, Morris sees a tiny shadow loping through a field of tall grass.

MORRIS: There is a coyote. See him? That's a $50 bill right there.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: He pulls over and grabs his rifle.

(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLING, GUNSHOT)

MORRIS: Oh, I hit way low.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOT)

MORRIS: Oh, that was close.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: But the coyote disappears into the brush.

MORRIS: We don't get them all.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: On November 30, Morris and his partner, Garvin Young, head out on the 48-hour hunt. The hunt is limited to teams of two, so I wave goodbye for now.

(SOUNDBITE OF COYOTES HOWLING)

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: So how did canis latrans, the American coyote, find itself so squarely in the crosshairs?

(SOUNDBITE OF COYOTES HOWLING)

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Well, for thousands of years, the howl of coyotes could only be heard in their original habitat, the American Southwest, where they were held in check by wolves and other predators and viewed by many of their Native American neighbors as a deity¹⁸. That changed with the arrival of European-American settlers in the early 1800s. Coyotes and wolves took the opportunity to expand their diet to livestock¹⁹. And for decades, the federal government actively²⁰ encouraged the extermination²¹ of predators. That policy pushed wolves to the brink²² of extinction²³, but the wily coyote managed to thrive and spread pretty much everywhere. To this day, the government hires hunters to manage coyote populations and protect livestock in many states. And around 70 years ago, ranchers started to host coyote-hunting competitions.

CAMILLA FOX: My grandfather's generation said we need to get rid of the predator¹¹, whether we poison it on a ranch¹⁰ or whether we go out and kill it as part of a killing²⁴ contest. That's the kind of mentality²⁵ and culture that we're up against.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Camilla Fox is the director of Project Coyote, which wants to shut down coyote-killing competitions. Fox says that coyotes play an important ecological²⁶ role, but more than that, she thinks it's time for humans to rethink our relationship with the natural world.

FOX: We are beyond killing animals for prizes and fun. This should be part of our history books.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: The organization and its partners have used lawsuits²⁷ to successfully shut down coyote-hunting contests in several states. In 2014, California became the first state to ban them outright²⁸, followed by Vermont last month. Some hunters also oppose these competitions. They see them as unsporting and worry they give hunting a bad name. But let's just say the fact that Fox is a vegetarian²⁹ who lives in California and many of the competition hunters come from deep-red states is probably not a coincidence. There's a cultural divide here, and the way both sides describe each other can get heated.

FOX: It's gratuitous³⁰ slaughter³¹, and that's precisely³² what cockfighting and dogfighting were. And it was up until not too long ago that both those practices were still legal in the U.S.

MORRIS: They don't want me to hunt. And I want to tell them to go to hell. The reality of it is we're good people. And whether you understand or not, I'm doing something legal. And I really don't care if you like it or not.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Big Al Morris is back from the hunt. He and his partner spill out of their truck cab dressed head-to-toe in camo and face paint.

MORRIS: Bada-bing-bada-bang (ph), A-Team.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: They've driven over a thousand miles in two days and returned with 14 coyote carcasses.

MORRIS: Two hours of sleep sucks.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Inside a corral, each team presents their haul. Some have over two dozen dead coyotes - glazed³³ eyes, frozen in rigor³⁴ mortis. Staff members use a rectal thermometer to check the body temperature of each coyote.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Fifty-two point seven.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: Then it's off to the weigh station.

MORRIS: This one feels like it has a lot of lead in it.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: On the other side of the hangar, employees of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources use shears³⁵ to snip³⁶ ear samples from each coyote caught in the state, data for their deer conservation program. Then they're stacked onto a flatbed truck to await being processed for their pelts³⁷. As the pile grows to more than 200 coyotes, the hangar fills with the chatter³⁸ of hunting stories and the acrid³⁹ smell of entrails. Watching this, there there's no doubt that humans are the ultimate predator. In the end, Big Al Morris is awarded third place. The winners walk away with new rifles and $1,600 of prize money. After the competition, I ask Big Al Morris how he squares the love and respect he's expressed for the coyote with his annual quest to kill as many of them as possible.

MORRIS: I don't know how to equate⁴⁰ that. I don't know how somebody who doesn't know me would understand that killing them is an expression of my love. I think the coyote's here for us to utilize⁴¹. God put them here for us. I love them. I don't want to eradicate⁴² them. But I'm damn sure going to kill a bunch every year.

HOROWITZ-GHAZI: For Morris, there isn't a contradiction between appreciating animals and killing them. It's just part of the natural order. Activists⁴³ like Project Coyote's Camilla Fox argue that it's time for humans to choose coexistence with other species over domination. And lawmakers are going to have to decide where they stand on the broad spectrum⁴⁴ between these two positions as activists continue to push legislation to ban coyote-hunting contests around the country. Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, NPR News.

1 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。

2 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

3 gregarious   

adj.群居的，喜好群居的

参考例句：

• These animals are highly gregarious.这些动物非常喜欢群居。
• They are gregarious birds and feed in flocks.它们是群居鸟类，会集群觅食。

4 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

5 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

6 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

7 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

8 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

9 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

11 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。

12 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》

13 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

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。

17 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

18 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

19 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

20 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

21 extermination   

n.消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子，所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
• In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句

22 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

23 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

24 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

25 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

26 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

27 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

28 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

29 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

30 gratuitous   

adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的

参考例句：

• His criticism is quite gratuitous.他的批评完全没有根据。
• There's too much crime and gratuitous violence on TV.电视里充斥着犯罪和无端的暴力。

31 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

32 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

33 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

35 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

36 snip   

n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断

参考例句：

• He has now begun to snip away at the piece of paper.现在他已经开始剪这张纸。
• The beautifully made briefcase is a snip at £74.25.这个做工精美的公文包售价才74.25英镑，可谓物美价廉。

37 pelts   

n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走

参考例句：

• He did and Tibetans lit bonfires of the pelts. 他做到了，藏民们点起了篝火把皮毛都烧了。
• Description: A warm cloak fashioned from thick fabric and wolf pelts. 一个由厚布和狼皮做成的暖和的斗篷。

38 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

39 acrid   

adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• There is an acrid tone to your remarks.你说这些话的口气带有讥刺意味。
• The room was filled with acrid smoke.房里充满刺鼻的烟。

40 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

41 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

42 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

43 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

44 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。