泰国迷路的小儒艮因食用塑料而死

The sea animal that captured hearts across Thailand and the world has died, officials told The Guardian.

泰国相关人员在接受《卫报》采访时表示，这只曾俘获泰国乃至全世界人心的海洋动物已经死亡。

The dugong developed an infection after eating plastic in the ocean, according to the report.

据报道，小儒艮在海洋中食用塑料后感染了病毒。

AP

The rare marine mammal had become a national sensation in the country after it was rescued as an orphan in waters near the province of Krabi in April. Video of the Dugong — named Marium — playing with rescuers went viral.

今年4月，这只稀有的海洋哺乳动物在克拉比省附近海域作为孤儿获救后，在全国引起轰动。这只叫玛丽亚的小儒艮与救援人员玩耍的视频在网上疯传。

The creature, a relative of the manatee, had stopped eating and begun to deteriorate rapidly before dying early Saturday. An autopsy confirmed plastic lodged in Marium’s intestines had played a role in the creature’s death.

这种动物是海牛的近亲，在周六早些时候死亡之前，已经停止进食并开始迅速恶化。尸检证实，在玛丽亚肠子里的塑料与它的死有关。

Dugongs are considered a “vulnerable” species, according to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and primarily live in coastal regions across Southeast Asia.

根据《国际自然保护联盟濒危物种红色名录》，儒艮被认为是“脆弱”物种，主要生活在东南亚沿海地区。

“Everyone is sad about this loss,” Nantarika Chansue, director of Chulalongkorn University’s aquatic animal medicine unit in Bangkok told The Guardian. “The thing that needs to be resolved, if we’re going to preserve rare marine animals, is to protect the environment for both people and animals.”

曼谷朱拉隆功大学水生动物医学部主任南塔利卡·查苏对卫报说：“每个人都为这次损失感到难过。”“如果我们要保护稀有海洋动物，首先要解决保护人类和动物环境的问题。”