国家地理:佛罗里达美洲狮的回归(3)（在线收听）

Scientists back then hatched an unprecedented rescue plan:

当时的科学家想出了一个前所未有的救援计划：

In the mid-1990s they hired Texan Roy McBride, arguably the world's best mountain lion tracker,

他们在20世纪90年代中期聘雇了可以说是世上最优秀的美洲狮追踪者--德州人罗伊·麦克布莱德，

to capture eight of the cats in Texas, all females, then release them into South Florida.

由他在德州捕捉八只母美洲狮，然后将它们野放到佛罗里达州南部。

Five of them bred, and this infusion of genetic diversity reversed the panther's downward spiral.

其中有五只怀孕并生下幼崽，这种基因多样性的注入挽救了佛罗里达美洲狮的颓势。

Populations grew slowly, and now there are about 200 individuals,

佛罗里达美洲狮族群数量慢慢增长，如今大约有200只，

most of them in a massive stretch of contiguous land south of the Caloosahatchee River, which stretches east from Fort Myers.

其中大部分生活在从麦尔士堡往东流的卡鲁沙哈奇河以南的一大片绵延不断的土地上。

"It's one of the most dramatic conservation success stories in U.S. history," says Carlton Ward, Jr.,

小卡尔顿·沃德说：“这是美国历史上最戏剧性的保育成功故事之一。”

a conservationist and photographer whose work is supported by the National Geographic Society.

他是一位接受国家地理学会赞助的保育工作者兼摄影师。

But a variety of threats cloud the panther's future, including car collisions and panther-on-panther territorial spats, the two leading causes of death.

然而，美洲狮的未来因为各种威胁而蒙上阴影，包括车祸，还有美洲狮之间的领域争夺，这是美洲狮死亡的两个主因。

About 25 of the cats are killed by vehicles each year,

每年约有25只美洲狮死于车祸，

a reflection of how development and road construction threaten the species at a time when roughly 900 people are moving to Florida every day.

这反映出在每天约有900人搬到佛罗里达的今日，开发与道路建设对这个物种所构成的威胁。

Additionally, a new debilitating neurological condition with an unknown cause has afflicted more than a dozen panthers, alarming conservationists.

此外，有十几只美洲狮为一种新的神经疾病所苦，疾病原因不明，但会导致行动不便，这也让保育工作者深感忧虑。

There is also good news, however: Panthers are reclaiming some of their old territory.

不过，也不是没有好消息：美洲狮正在重返昔日的部分领域。

In 2016 scientists spotted a female north of the Caloosahatchee River for the first time since 1973.

2016年，科学家在卡鲁沙哈奇河北岸发现一只母美洲狮，这是自1973年以来的第一次。