VOA新闻杂志2022--澳大利亚海滩上200多头鲸鱼被困

Over 200 Whales Stuck on Beach in Australia

About 230 whales beached themselves on the western part of the Australian island of Tasmania. It is the second such incident in recent days.

At least half are alive and animal officials are working to rescue them. They are also trying to understand why the whales got stuck.

The whales are stuck on Ocean Beach near Macquarie Harbor¹ in the western part of Tasmania. Exactly two years ago, 470 whales became stuck on sand in the same area. That time, about 100 whales were saved but the rest died.

The whales are pilot whales, which weigh between 1,000 and 2,000 kilograms and measure over 6 meters. The International Whaling Commission² says pilot whales are the species³ that most often is beached in large numbers. Some scientists believe it is because they travel in large groups and follow a leader.

Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources said a team from the Marine⁴ Conservation Program was heading to the area to help the whales.

The harbor does not have deep water and its entrance is known by locals as Hell's Gate.

Linton Kringle is a salmon⁵ farmer who helped with the rescue in 2020. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation⁶ this year's work would be more difficult.

That time, he said, the whales were in the harbor so people could reach them easily on boats. This time, they are outside of the safe area, on a beach, which means it will be harder to get boats near them.

"It's too shallow⁷, way too rough. My thoughts would be try to get them onto a vehicle if we can't swim them out," Kringle added.

Vanessa Pirotta is a wildlife scientist who studies animals like whales and dolphins. She said the fact that the whales have gotten stuck around the same place during the same part of the year suggests "there might be something environmental here."

There was another incident of whales getting stuck in Tasmania on Monday. In the northern part of the island state, 14 sperm⁸ whales were found on King Island.

One scientist called that incident even more unusual than the pilot whales getting stuck.

Olaf Meynecke is a marine scientist at Griffith University in Australia. He said warmer ocean temperatures could be forcing the whales into different areas to look for food.

"When they do this, they are not in the best physical condition because they might be starving, so this can lead them to take more risks and maybe go closer to shore," Meynecke said.

Words in This Story

beach –v. when a large ocean animal such as a whale comes out of the water and onto land and cannot return to the water

species –n. a group of animals that are similar and can produce young

shallow –adj. describing a small distance from the surface of the water to the bottom

shore –n. the land along an area of water

1 harbor   

n.海港，港口；vt.庇护，藏匿；心怀(怨恨等)

参考例句：

• The harbor lies to the south of the city.港口在城市的南边。
• At that time,our ship was tied up at this harbor.当时我们的船停靠在这个港口。

2 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

3 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

6 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。

7 shallow   

adj.浅的，肤浅的，浅显易懂的；n.(pl.)浅滩，浅处；v.变浅

参考例句：

• The dish is too shallow to serve soup in.盘子太浅，盛不了汤。
• His analysis was always shallow.他的分析总是很肤浅的。

8 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。