本集内容

Saving the Mexican salamander 墨西哥蝾螈濒临灭绝

学习要点

有关“animal conservation 动物保护”的词汇

边看边答

What's remarkable about the axololotl?

文字稿

Lake Pátzcuaro, Central Mexico. The only place in the world where you just might find a critically endangered axolotl, known locally as the achoque.

帕慈库罗湖，位于墨西哥中部，这里是世界上唯一可能见到极度濒危物种蝾螈的地方，在当地被称为“安氏钝口螈”。

Scientists are here on a mission to prevent these strange amphibians from being wiped out completely.

科学家在这里的重要任务是想办法不让这些奇怪的两栖动物彻底消失。

Gerado Garcia, Chester Zoo
Deforestation which is dragging down sediments to the lake. We have, as well, pollution; we are probably talking now to make it official that this species is close to extinction. So we really arrived right at the last minute.

赫拉多·加尔西亚 切斯特动物园
“森林砍伐将沉积物拖入湖中。同时我们还面临环境污染。我们现在差不多可以正式宣布这个物种濒临灭绝。所以我们真是在最后一刻赶到了这里。”

This emergency effort involves rearing the axolotls in captivity, and that's where some unexpected experts come in: the Sisters of the Immaculate Health, who run a true sanctuary for this species.

这个紧急行动任务包括人工圈养蝾螈，这正是一些意想不到的专家派上用场的地方：无暇健康圣女会为这个物种提供了真正的避难所。

But while conservationists and their devout collaborators work together to save a species that is disappearing from the wild, axolotls are breed in their thousands in laboratories around the world, like this one, in Nottingham.

在自然资源保护主义者和他们虔诚的合作者们共同努力拯救一个正从野外消失的物种的同时，蝾螈在世界各地成千上万的实验室里被培育繁殖，就像这个在诺丁汉的实验室一样。

Andrew Johnson, University of Nottingham
Most people who use axolotls study them because of their ability to regenerate. And it's remarkable. Let's say a limb gets bit off here above the elbow: what will happen is the limb will just regenerate a perfect mirror image of the limb on the other side. And so, many people hope that we can identify some latent ability to regenerate in human tissues…

安德鲁·约翰逊 诺丁汉大学
“多数学者选择用蝾螈做科研是因为它们有强大的可再生能力。这个能力非常了不起。假设蝾螈的一个上肢在肘部以上的地方被咬掉了，接下来会发生的是，受伤的肢体会重新生成与另一侧肢体一模一样的新肢体。所以，很多人希望我们能找出人体组织中潜在的再生能力……”

Its regenerative abilities are the reason that people here have consumed Lake Pátzcuaro's axolotls for centuries, as a folk remedy, for everything from anaemia to asthma.

其再生能力是当地人几个世纪以来一直食用帕慈库罗湖蝾螈的原因，作为一种民间疗法，治疗从贫血到哮喘等各种疑难病症。

And the original recipe for this remarkable medicine? Developed at the convent by the sisters themselves. The nuns actually started breeding the animals thirty years ago, to sustain a supply of their ancient remedy's key ingredient.

这种神奇药物的原始配方是怎么得来的？是由修女们自己在修道院里研发的。这些修女三十年前就开始饲养这些动物，以确保供给他们古老疗法中的关键成分。

词汇

critically endangered 极度濒危的

wiped out 被消灭，使灭绝

rearing (something) in captivity 人工圈养，人工饲养

sanctuary 避难所

你知道吗？

There are more than 4,000 different kinds of amphibians. They are cold-blooded – they are the same temperature as the water or air around them.

世界上有四千种不同种类的两栖动物。它们属冷血动物，体温与其所在环境中的水温或气温保持一致。

问题答案

This amphibian has the ability to regenerate – to regrow lost limbs or other body parts.