VOA科学技术2023 Canadian Polar Bear Population Drops Sharply 加拿大北极熊数量急剧下降（在线收听）

Canadian Polar Bear Population Drops Sharply

加拿大北极熊数量急剧下降

A new report suggests Canada's Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has dropped 27 percent during the past five years.

一份新的报告显示，加拿大哈德逊湾西部的北极熊数量在过去五年中下降了27%。

Every autumn, bears living along the western edge of the Hudson Bay pass through the sub-Arctic town of Churchill, Manitoba. The yearly movement has helped make the area's bears one of the most studied groups in the world. Bear-watching adds about $5.3 million to the local economy each year.

每年秋天，生活在哈德逊湾西部边缘的北极熊都会经过马尼托巴亚北极小镇丘吉尔。每年一度的运动使该地区的熊成为世界上研究最多的群体之一。看熊每年为当地经济增加约530万美元。

But a report recently issued by the government in Canada's northern territory of Nunavut found that just 618 polar bears remained in the area in 2021. This represented a 50 percent drop in the population from the 1980s.

但加拿大政府最近发布的一份报告显示，2021，该地区只剩下618只北极熊。这意味着人口比20世纪80年代下降了50%。

Polar bears depend on frozen salt water, called sea ice, to help them hunt seals for food. But the Arctic is now warming about four times faster than the rest of the world. Around Hudson Bay, seasonal sea ice is melting earlier in the spring, and forming later in the fall. This is forcing bears to go longer periods without food.

北极熊依靠被称为海冰的冷冻盐水来帮助它们捕食海豹。但现在北极的变暖速度是世界其他地区的四倍。在哈德逊湾周围，季节性海冰在春季早些时候融化，在秋季晚些时候形成。这迫使熊长时间不进食。

John Whiteman is chief research scientist at the nonprofit conservation group Polar Bears International. Speaking to Reuters news agency, he called the population drop "totally shocking." Whiteman said scientists fear that if continued sea ice loss cannot be stopped, it will one day lead to a total loss of the area's polar bear population.

约翰·怀特曼是非营利保护组织北极熊国际的首席研究科学家。他在接受路透社采访时称，北极熊数量的下降“令人震惊”。怀特曼说，科学家们担心，如果持续的海冰流失无法阻止，总有一天会导致该地区北极熊数量完全减少。

Scientists warned that a direct link between the population drop and sea ice loss in Hudson Bay is not fully clear. This is because four of the past five years have seen reasonably good ice conditions. Experts say climate-caused changes affecting the local sea population might also be driving polar bear numbers down.

科学家警告说，哈德逊湾的人口减少和海冰流失之间的直接联系尚不完全清楚。这是因为在过去五年中，有四年的冰况相当好。专家表示，气候变化对当地海洋种群的影响也可能导致北极熊数量下降。

Scientists are also concerned because the rate of population decline has sped up in recent years. Between 2011 and 2016, for example, the polar bear population dropped just 11 percent.

科学家们也感到担忧，因为近年来人口下降的速度加快了。例如，2011年至2016年间，北极熊的数量仅下降了11%。

There are 19 populations of polar bears spread out among Russia, Alaska, Norway, Greenland and Canada. But Western Hudson Bay is one of the southernmost populations. Scientists predict the bears there are likely to become among the first to disappear.

有19只北极熊分布在俄罗斯、阿拉斯加、挪威、格陵兰和加拿大。但哈德逊湾西部是最南端的人口之一。科学家预测，那里的熊很可能成为首批消失的熊之一。

A 2021 study in the journal Nature Climate Change found most of the world's polar bear populations are in danger of collapsing by 2100 if worldwide carbon emissions are not heavily reduced.

《自然气候变化》杂志2021的一项研究发现，如果全球碳排放量不大幅减少，到2100年，世界上大多数北极熊的数量都有崩溃的危险。

Researchers said the number of deaths in young bears and female bears in Western Hudson Bay is worrisome.

研究人员表示，哈德逊湾西部幼熊和母熊的死亡人数令人担忧。

"Those are the types of bears we've always predicted would be affected by changes in the environment," said Stephen Atkinson. He was a lead writer of the government report and has studied polar bear populations for more than 30 years.

斯蒂芬·阿特金森说：“我们一直预测，这些熊会受到环境变化的影响。”。他是政府报告的主要撰写人，研究北极熊种群已有30多年。

Young bears need energy to grow and cannot survive long periods without enough food. Female bears struggle because they use up a lot of energy caring for young bears.

幼熊需要能量来生长，如果没有足够的食物，它们无法长时间生存。母熊挣扎是因为它们在照顾幼熊时消耗了大量的能量。

Atkinson said the ability of polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay to reproduce will decrease, "because you simply have fewer young bears that survive and become adults."

阿特金森说，哈德逊湾西部的北极熊繁殖能力将下降，“因为你只会有更少的幼熊存活下来并成年。”

Words in This Story

conservation – n. an organized effort that aims to protect animals, plants and natural resources

emission – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source

type – n. a person or thing that is part of a group of people or things that have similar qualities

decline – n. a decrease