国家地理:佛罗里达美洲狮的回归(6)（在线收听）

Some see the panthers' presence as a positive because it makes developing certain areas of land into suburbs more difficult.

有些人正面看待美洲狮的存在，因为这会让某些地区比较不易被开发成为郊区住宅。

"On the Endangered Species Act, do you see 'cowboy' or 'rancher' written on it?

“在《濒危物种法案》上，你有看到上面写着‘牛仔’或‘牧场主’吗？

No, but we benefit from the protections afforded the panther," says Elton Langford, a rancher who lives to the west, near Arcadia.

没有，但我们从美洲狮的保护中受益良多，”埃尔顿·兰福德说，他是一位住在西部阿卡迪亚附近的牧场主。

But some ranchers, especially to the south, where there are more panthers, are warier, says Alex Johns,

但是阿历克斯·约翰斯表示，也有些牧场主对美洲狮的态度较为保留，尤其是在南部美洲狮数量较多的地方，

a Seminole cattleman whose family has ranched since his ancestors poached cows from the Spanish in the 1500s.

约翰斯是塞米诺尔原住民，也是牧牛人，他的家族自16世纪从西班牙人那里偷牛以来，一直从事畜牧业。

In this region, panthers occasionally eat calves.

在这里，美洲狮偶尔会吃小牛。

A study conducted at one ranch found panthers kill less than one percent of calves; another study found the predators killed around 5 percent.

在一座牧场做的研究显示，美洲狮杀死的小牛不到1%；另一项研究显示，掠食者杀掉的小牛约占5%。

Panthers sometimes are blamed for kills by coyotes, bears, and even buzzards,

被郊狼、黑熊甚至美洲鹫杀害的动物，有时也被归咎到美洲狮身上，

says Deborah Jansen, a Big Cypress National Preserve panther biologist who's worked with the felines since the early 1980s.

20世纪80年代早期就开始研究这种猫科动物的大柏树国家保护区美洲狮生物学家德博拉·约翰逊称。

Calf loss can stir resentment and even lead to retaliation, cattleman Johns says.

牧牛人约翰斯表示，损失小牛可能会激起民怨，甚至导致报复行为。

Making matters worse, the federal program that compensates ranchers for livestock losses because of panthers is flawed, he adds,

更糟糕的是，联邦政府对牧场主因美洲狮造成牲口损失的赔偿政策并不完善，

describing a process in which the paperwork is difficult and time-consuming, and reimbursement often is not granted.

整个程序的文书作业既困难又耗时，而且经常不予补偿。

David Shindle, panther coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, agrees that the reimbursement program needs improvement, and he sees the two sides as allies.

美国鱼类和野生动物管理局的美洲狮项目协调人戴维·辛德尔坦言，赔偿政策确实需要改进，不过他认为双方是盟友关系。

"To save the panther, we have to save the rancher," he says.

他说：“为了拯救美洲狮，我们必须拯救牧场主。”