全球频现动物集体死亡

　　8000 turtle doves dead as global phenomenon shows no sign of abating

　　全球动物死亡事件继续升级：意大利再现8000只斑鸠集体死亡。

　　Thousands of gizzard shad fish have been washed up on Chicago's harbours while more than 100 dead

　　birds have been found clustered on a California highway。

　　成千上万条死亡的鲱鱼被海浪冲到了芝加哥港湾，而在加利福利亚洲的高速公路旁，有人发现了超过100只鸟类“横尸遍野”的惨象。

　　The two instances appear to be a continuation of the strange mass animal deaths that have struck in the past fortnight - in America and elsewhere。

　　而以上的这两个例子只是近半个月来全球各地纷纷出现了令人不解的大规模动物死亡事件中的一部分而已。

　　However Lake Michigan Program biologist Dan Makauskas said that gizzard shad are not a very tough variety of fish and are more sensitive to drops in oxygen levels than most fish。

　　而来自密歇根湖的生物学家，丹-马考斯卡斯表示，造成这一令人费解的现象的原因可能是，某些鱼类对于水中氧含量的降低非常敏感，因不适应而造成了“缺氧死亡”。

　　Mr Makauskas suggested that the young fish may not have built up enough reserves to withstand the early onslaught of extreme cold that hit the area。

　　马考斯卡斯表示，幼鱼对于环境的适应力还较弱，无法抵御极端寒冷对该地区气候所造成的影响。

　　Canada geese and mallard ducks have eaten many of the dead fish。

　　而这些死鱼中的大部分都被加拿大黑雁与野鸭吃掉了。

　　Meanwhile, California wildlife officials are attempting to work out what caused the death of more than 100 birds found clustered together just off Highway 101.

　　与此同时，加州野生动物部分的官员们正竭力寻找出造成超过100只鸟类集体在101公路旁坠亡的真正原因。

　　The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that California Highway Patrol officers found the dead birds near the roadway on Saturday and called in the state Department of Fish and Game to investigate。

　　据媒体的报道，加州公路巡逻人员在上周六发现了公路旁的鸟类的尸体，并立即报告了加州的相关部门，要求进行调查。

　　The officers who found the birds described them as small with brown and black feathers. They were intact and had not been shot。

　　公路巡逻人员描述死掉的鸟的特征：个头小，羽毛呈棕黑相间，并且头完好无损，没有被射杀的迹象。

　　The reports come as other, larger bird deaths have been reported in Arkansas, Louisiana and other states。

　　另外，从阿肯色州的路易斯安那州传来了更大规模的不明原因的鸟类死亡消息。

　　First there came bird and fish deaths on December 31 in Arkansas, followed by reports of several other mass animal deaths around the world。

　　12月31日，首先在阿肯色州发现了鸟和鱼类的死亡事件，随之而来的全球各地不约而同的出现了类似的情况。

　　And yesterday, 700 turtle doves were found dead in Faenza, in northern Italy。

　　就在昨天，又在意大利北部的法恩扎城发生了700只左右死掉的斑鸠。

　　Local agency GeaPress reported: 'They are in heaps in the flowerbeds, crushed by machinery in the streets, horribly hung from trees like Christmas balls.'

　　据当地媒体的导报，“这些死掉的斑鸠的尸体落在树枝上，有的散落在街边，情形令人不寒而栗。”

　　While conspiracy theorists have been busy trying to find explanations for the mass deaths - from government testing to alien interference - the answer to the dead doves in Italy appears simple: they ate too much。

　　在一些人忙着找出斑鸠死亡缘由的同时，官方却给出了简单而令人捧腹的解释：这些鸟儿吃太多了，活活被撑死了。

　　Scientists say mass die-offs of wildlife happen regularly, and are usually unrelated and unreported。

　　科学家称，大规模的动物死亡情况会经常发生，这样的消息通常未被导报。