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Scottish wildcats: From the brink of extinction to wild-born kittens

苏格兰野猫：从濒临灭绝到野外诞下幼崽

文字稿

This might look like a tabby, but it is in fact a critically endangered Scottish wildcat. And here in the Highlands, they've been breeding them for release into the wild.

这也许看上去是一只虎斑猫，但它其实是一只极度濒危的苏格兰野猫。在苏格兰高地，人们一直在繁育这些野猫，为的是将它们放归野外。

The cats are closely monitored, have minimal contact with humans.

这些野猫受到严密监测，与人类的接触极少。

Estelle Morgan, Saving Wildcats, Animal Team Leader
"Luckily, the cats are not aware that we're watching them all the time. But yeah, it is a bit like Big Brother for cats."

埃斯特尔·摩根 “拯救野猫” 项目动物团队负责人
“好在这些野猫并不知道我们一直在观察它们。不过，这确实有点像一档野猫版 ‘老大哥’ 节目。”

72 cameras keeping an eye on them day and night.

72 台摄像机日夜监视着野猫们的一举一动。

Estelle Morgan, Saving Wildcats, Animal Team Leader
"We want to know what are the cats actually doing? What are they actually like without us there? Are they able to climb? Are they able to pounce? Can they, you know, navigate complex structures? Are they active at, you know, natural times? What we want to do is ensure that we're releasing cats to the wild that are healthy and that have got the behavioural potential to go and survive in the wild."

埃斯特尔·摩根 “拯救野猫” 项目动物团队负责人
“我们想知道的是，这些野猫到底在做些什么？我们不在场的时候，它们究竟是什么样的？它们能攀爬吗？能猛扑吗？能在复杂的环境中穿行吗？它们会按照符合天性的作息时间活动吗？我们希望确保放归野外的野猫身体健康，同时具备在野外环境中生存所需的行为能力。”

Lorna Gordon, BBC correspondent
"The cats that have been released have established new territories here in the Cairngorms, and the plan now is to go further."

洛娜·戈登 BBC 通讯员
“被放归的野猫已经在凯恩戈姆山脉建立了新领地。现在，项目还计划进一步扩大规模。”

46 have now been released to fend for themselves, and there have been wild-born kittens.

目前已有 46 只野猫被放归野外独立生存，而且已经有在野外出生的幼崽出现。

The population is small but growing.

种群数量虽然不大，但正在增长。

Dr Martin Gaywood, NatureScot
"We've had an enormous amount of success here. It's only the first step. In order to restore the wildcats to the whole of Scotland, we need to plan long-term and we need to plan at a big scale."

马丁·盖伍德博士苏格兰自然署
“我们在这里取得了巨大的成功。但这只是计划的第一步。为了让野猫能重新回到苏格兰各地，我们需要制定长期、大规模的计划。”

Road traffic, disease and interbreeding all have the potential to impact numbers, as does climate change.

道路交通、疾病和杂交繁殖都可能影响种群数量，气候变化也是如此。

Dr Helen Senn, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
"You know, we've had some really big climate incidents here in the Strath over the last couple of years. We've had some major storms and flooding incidents. We've also had, unfortunately, a very significant forest fire in the north of the release area, and all of these things have the potential to impact the population."

海伦·赛恩博士苏格兰皇家动物学会
“过去几年，这片河谷地区经历了一些非常严重的气候事件。这里曾遭遇强烈的风暴和洪灾。此外，不幸的是，放归区域北部还发生过一场非常严重的森林火灾。所有这些情况都可能对野猫种群造成影响。”

Once released, a close eye is kept on the wildcats now roaming the Cairngorms, a tracker on a collar which will eventually drop off, sending back information.

放归野外后，人们依然会对出没于凯恩戈姆山脉的野猫进行密切监测。它们戴有最终会自然脱落的项圈，上面装有追踪装置，会不断传回信息。

Louise Hughes, Saving Wildcats, Field Operations Manager
"When we're driving around, the receiver is emitting, like, white noise, and then within that white noise, what we're looking for is a very distinctive ping every two seconds."

路易斯·休斯 “拯救野猫” 项目外勤工作负责人
“我们开车巡逻的时候，这个接收器会发出白噪音。我们需要在这片白噪音里捕捉一种很容易辨认的提示音，这种声响每两秒一次。”

Lorna Gordon, BBC correspondent
"Is this it, beeping now?"

洛娜·戈登 BBC 通讯员
“就是这个正在响的哔哔声吗？”

Louise Hughes, Saving Wildcats, Field Operations Manager
"Yeah. That is the signal coming from the collar to tell me that the cat is in the vicinity. To be able to get this amount of information is vitally important to what we're doing, but also the bigger picture of, like, the long-term success of wildcats in the wild."

路易斯·休斯 “拯救野猫” 项目外勤工作负责人
“是的。这就是项圈发出的信号，它告诉我这只野猫就在附近。能获得这么多的信息对我们的工作至关重要，对野猫种群在野外长期生存这一大局也同样重要。”

The hope is that this precious and elusive species of cat will, with a little help, make its home not just here in the Cairngorms, but throughout Scotland once again.

希望在人们的一点帮助下，这种珍稀而行踪隐秘的猫科动物不仅能在凯恩戈姆山脉安家落户，也能重新遍布整个苏格兰。