野火襲擊了加利福尼亞的紅杉和禿鷹，但仍有希望

野火襲擊了加利福尼亞的紅杉和禿鷹，但仍有希望

At 3 a.m. on Friday morning, biologist Kelly Sorenson was awake, nervously watching the live webcam feed of a California condor nest on the Big Sur coast. He could see a 5-month-old chick, still unable to fly, as the flames of the Dolan Fire came into view.

周五凌晨3點(diǎn)，生物學(xué)家凱利·索倫森還醒著，緊張地看著大蘇爾海岸一個(gè)加利福尼亞禿鷹巢穴的網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播。當(dāng)多蘭大火的火焰進(jìn)入視線時(shí)，他看到了一只5個(gè)月大的雛鳥(niǎo)，它還不能飛。

"It was just terrifying," Sorenson said. "Having the live-streaming webcams was both a blessing and a nightmare because we had to watch the fire as it burned through the canyon."

“這太可怕了，”索倫森說(shuō)。“網(wǎng)絡(luò)攝像頭的直播既是一件好事，也是一場(chǎng)噩夢(mèng)，因?yàn)槲覀儾坏貌豢粗蠡鹪趰{谷中燃燒。”

California's massive wildfires have burned more than 1,000 homes and buildings over the last week, destroying irreplaceable possessions and memories for some residents. At the same time, the fires are also threatening some of the state's rare ecosystems and wildlife.

上周，加州的大火燒毀了1000多座房屋和建筑，摧毀了一些居民不可替代的財(cái)產(chǎn)和記憶。與此同時(shí)，大火還威脅著該州一些稀有的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)和野生動(dòng)物。

Biologists are watching closely as the blazes encroach on old-growth redwood trees in Northern and Central California, where some giants are more than 1,000 years old and are known by individual names. While some seem to have been spared, Big Basin State Park — the oldest state park in California — saw significant fire damage.

生物學(xué)家們正密切關(guān)注著大火對(duì)加州北部和中部古老紅杉樹(shù)的侵蝕，那里的一些巨型紅杉樹(shù)已經(jīng)有1000多年的歷史了，而且人們都知道它們的名字。雖然有些似乎幸免于難，但加州最古老的州立公園大盆地州立公園卻遭受了嚴(yán)重的火災(zāi)破壞。

Still, biologists say there are reasons to be hopeful, because redwoods have incredibly thick bark that can withstand wildfires. Even fully charred trees can sprout again.

盡管如此，生物學(xué)家說(shuō)仍然有理由抱有希望，因?yàn)榧t杉的樹(shù)皮非常厚，可以抵御野火。即使完全燒焦的樹(shù)木也能再次發(fā)芽。

The larger question is whether ecosystems can fully bounce back after extreme fires given that the climate change, already driving the current wildfires, can also make recovery difficult through heat stress and drought.

更大的問(wèn)題是，考慮到氣候變化(已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致目前的野火)也可能通過(guò)熱壓力和干旱使恢復(fù)變得困難，生態(tài)系統(tǒng)是否能夠在極端火災(zāi)后完全恢復(fù)。

For the endangered California condors, recovery is still tenuous. In 1987, just 27 birds remained. Scientists brought them into captivity to begin a breeding program. Today, there are about 100 condors free-flying on California's Central Coast. The Ventana Wildlife Society, where Sorenson is executive director, has been carefully tracking and releasing them.

對(duì)于瀕臨滅絕的加州禿鷹來(lái)說(shuō)，恢復(fù)仍然很脆弱。1987年，只剩下27只。科學(xué)家們將它們?nèi)︷B(yǎng)起來(lái)，開(kāi)始了一項(xiàng)繁殖計(jì)劃。如今，大約有100只禿鷹在加州中部海岸自由飛翔。索倫森擔(dān)任執(zhí)行董事的溫塔納野生動(dòng)物協(xié)會(huì)一直在小心地追蹤并放生它們。

The massive birds, with a 9-foot wingspan, are still threatened by lead poisoning since they feed on the carcasses of animals that have lead bullet fragments from hunters.

這種翼展長(zhǎng)達(dá)9英尺的巨型鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)仍然面臨著鉛中毒的威脅，因?yàn)樗鼈円詣?dòng)物的尸體為食，這些動(dòng)物身上有獵人留下的鉛彈碎片。

Of the eight condor nests with chicks this year, Sorenson says five are within the fire zone.

索倫森說(shuō)，今年有8個(gè)雛鷹巢穴，其中5個(gè)在火災(zāi)區(qū)域內(nèi)。

"Even just four or five birds would be a huge loss," says Sorenson. "It's just really nerve-wracking now, not knowing."

索倫森說(shuō):“即使是四五只鳥(niǎo)的損失也是巨大的。”“不知道，現(xiàn)在真的很傷腦筋。”

Still, Sorenson is hopeful some chicks made it. In 2008, condor chicks survived a wildfire in Big Sur, protected by the tall redwood trees they nested in.

盡管如此，索倫森還是希望一些雛鳥(niǎo)能活下來(lái)。2008年，禿鷹雛鳥(niǎo)在大蘇爾的野火中幸存下來(lái)，它們被它們筑巢的高大紅杉樹(shù)所保護(hù)。