這些巨大的入侵蜥蜴正在喬治亞州啃食食物

這些巨大的入侵蜥蜴正在喬治亞州啃食食物

Beware the tegu.

一定要小心泰格斯。

With a name that sounds like it could be Godzilla's enemy of the week, this ravenous reptile is on a rampage in the American South. Georgia, in particular, is feeling the impact of the tegu, thanks to its undiscriminating and relentless appetite.

這個名字聽起來像是哥斯拉本周的敵人，這只貪婪的爬行動物在美國南部橫沖直撞。格魯吉亞尤其感受到了泰格斯的影響，這要歸功于它不加區(qū)別的、無情的胃口。

In fact, Georgia's Department of Natural Resources issued a plea this month asking anyone who spots a tegu to report it immediately.

事實上，格魯吉亞的自然資源部門在這個月發(fā)出了一項請求，要求任何發(fā)現(xiàn)泰格斯的人立即報告。

"It has become established as an exotic invasive species in several sites in south Florida, and we now believe in the Toombs and Tattnall counties of Georgia," explains John Jensen of Georgia DNR. "We're trying to remove them from the wild because they can have negative impacts on our native species."

喬治亞州DNR的約翰·詹森解釋說:“在南佛羅里達的幾個地方，它已經(jīng)被認(rèn)定為外來入侵物種，我們現(xiàn)在相信是在喬治亞州的圖姆布縣和塔特納爾縣。我們正試圖將它們從野外清除，因為它們會對我們的本土物種產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。”

Specifically, they're Argentine black and white tegus, but despite the name, they're native to many parts of South America,including Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

具體來說，它們是阿根廷黑白相間的泰格斯，但盡管名字如此，它們原產(chǎn)于南美洲的許多地方，包括巴西、巴拉圭和烏拉圭。

Besides being hardy and possibly even more cold tolerant than other reptiles, what makes tegus especially dangerous is their gift for multiplying. On average, females lay carrying clutches of about 30 eggs.

除了比其他爬行動物可能更耐寒之外，讓泰格斯特別危險的是它們繁殖的天賦。平均而言，雌性生下的卵大約有30個。

And all of those eggs stand a good chance of growing up to become habitat-mulching machines.

所有這些卵都很有可能長大成為覆蓋它們的機器。

"They eat just about anything they want — plant and animal matter," Jensen explains. "One of their favorite foods are eggs from ground-nesting animals such as gopher tortoises."

“它們想吃什么就吃什么——植物和動物，”詹森解釋說。“他們最喜歡的食物之一是來自地面筑巢動物的蛋，比如地鼠龜。”

That's particularly bad news since gopher tortoises — the only land tortoise native to the Southeast — is considered a keystone species. In other words, the species carries the weight of an entire ecosystem on its slender shoulders. Removing the gopher tortoise from Georgia's long-leaf pine forests could spell the collapse of the entire ecosystem.

這是一個特別壞的消息，因為gopher龜——東南部唯一的陸地龜——被認(rèn)為是關(guān)鍵物種。換句話說，這個物種在它纖細(xì)的肩膀上承載著整個生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的重量。從喬治亞州的長葉松林中移走地鼠龜可能意味著整個生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的崩潰。

To add insult to injury, tegus routinely kick gopher turtles out of their burrows and make them their own.

雪上加霜的是，泰格斯經(jīng)常把地鼠龜從洞里踢出來，讓它們自己待著。

Concern is running so high, wildlife officials are even encouraging people to take more drastic measures when spotting them.

人們的擔(dān)憂如此之高，野生動物保護官員甚至鼓勵人們在發(fā)現(xiàn)它們時采取更嚴(yán)厲的措施。

"If you're able to safely and humanely dispatch the animal, we encourage that and we want that information too," Jensen says.

詹森說:“如果你能夠安全、人道地處理動物，我們鼓勵這樣做，我們也希望得到這樣的信息。”

Other conservation groups put it more bluntly.

其他保護組織說得更直白。

"Tegus seen in Georgia can and should be shot on sight," the Orianne Society notes in a Facebook post.

“在喬治亞州看到的泰格斯可以而且應(yīng)該被當(dāng)場槍斃，”奧里安協(xié)會在臉書上寫道。

The Argentine tegu probably got its start in the southern U.S. as an exotic pet. (Photo: Creative Stock Studio/Shutterstock)

When they're not feasting on the eggs of Georgia's official state reptile, tegus enjoy everything from quail and chicken eggs to fruit, vegetables, plants, and even pet food. They won't say no to the occasional grasshopper or baby gopher tortoise either.

不吃喬治亞州官方爬行動物的蛋時，泰格斯喜歡吃各種東西，從鵪鶉蛋、雞蛋到水果、蔬菜、植物，甚至寵物食品。它們也不會對偶爾出現(xiàn)的蚱蜢或小地鼠龜說不。

Fortunately, they draw the line at humans. It's not like you're going to be surprised by one of these mini-monsters in the forest anyway. At about 4 feet long and speckled with tell-tale black-and-white spots or bands, don't exactly blend in with the foliage.

幸運的是，它們與人類劃清了界限。無論如何，你不會對森林里的這些小怪物感到驚訝。它身長約4英尺(約1.54米)，身上有明顯的黑白斑點或條紋，與樹葉并不完全融合。

Jensen notes that they're often mistaken for young alligators that have wandered far from their watery homes.

詹森指出，它們經(jīng)常被誤認(rèn)為是遠離水鄉(xiāng)的幼年短吻鱷。

Besides, tegus probably have humans to thank for introducing them to this Southern smorgasbord. The tegu invasion is being blamed entirely on exotic pet owners who release them into the wild once they grow too big to handle.

除此之外，泰格斯可能還得感謝人類，是他們把泰格斯介紹給了這種南方自助餐。泰格斯的入侵被完全歸咎于外來寵物的主人，一旦它們長得太大無法控制，他們就會把它們放歸野外。

"When these lizards get too large, people just release them," Chris Jenkins of the Orianne Society tells Garden & Gun magazine.

“當(dāng)這些蜥蜴長得太大時，人們就會釋放它們，”歐里安學(xué)會的克里斯·詹金斯告訴《花園與槍》雜志。

The good news is the tegu invasion is still in its infancy — at least in Georgia — meaning there's a chance to turn back these hungry marauders.

好消息是，泰格斯的入侵仍處于初期階段——至少在格魯吉亞是這樣——這意味著有機會擊退這些饑餓的掠奪者。

"If we are aggressive with control efforts, we can still hope to eradicate them fully," Georgia DNR biologist Daniel Sollenberger tells Garden & Gun.

“如果我們積極采取控制措施，我們?nèi)匀豢梢韵Ｍ耆鼈儯?rdquo;喬治亞州DNR生物學(xué)家丹尼爾·索倫伯格告訴花園與槍。

But the real solution to the tegu menace begins at home.

但是真正解決泰格斯威脅的方法是從國內(nèi)開始的。

"There are reptile adoption groups that may take it and try to find it a home," Jensen says. "Releasing it into the wild is the absolute worst thing to do."

詹森說:“有些爬行動物收養(yǎng)組織可能會收養(yǎng)它，并試圖給它找到一個家。把它放回野外絕對是最糟糕的事情。”