濒临灭绝的黑犀牛宝宝平安夜在密歇根动物园出生

濒临灭绝的黑犀牛宝宝平安夜在密歇根动物园出生

Early in the morning on Christmas Eve, a baby black rhino was born at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan. The baby boy, who has not yet been named by humans, seems to be healthy and bonding well with his mother, according to zoo officials.

圣诞前夜的清晨，一只小黑犀牛在密歇根州兰辛的波特公园动物园出生了。据动物园工作人员介绍，这名尚未被人类命名的男婴看起来很健康，和妈妈的关系也很好。

Photo: Potter Park Zoo

First-time mother Doppsee gave birth at 5:40 a.m. on Dec. 24, and her calf stood up for the first time about 90 minutes later, the zoo announced in a blog post. He began nursing by 9 a.m., and continues to nurse frequently.

动物园在一篇博文中宣布，12月24日凌晨5点40分，多普西首次产下幼崽，大约90分钟后，它第一次站了起来。他上午9点开始哺乳，并继续频繁哺乳。

The calf's father, Phineus, came to Potter Park Zoo from Texas in 2017, according to the zoo, which notes he was brought to Michigan specifically to breed with Doppsee.

据动物园介绍，这只幼崽的父亲菲尼厄斯2017年从德克萨斯州来到波特公园动物园，动物园称它是专门被带到密歇根与多普西交配的。

Veterinarians and other zoo staff watched the delivery via video feed from a tent outside the "rhino barn" where Doppsee gave birth, then gave the pair a few hours together before going in to check on them.

兽医和动物园的其他工作人员在“犀牛仓”外的一个帐篷里通过视频观看了多普西的分娩过程，多普西在那里生下了小犀牛。

"As this is Doppsee's first pregnancy, the animal care and veterinary staff will continue to monitor Doppsee and her calf closely in the next few weeks," Potter Park Zoo veterinarian Ronan Eustace said in a statement. "But so far, the rhino calf appears healthy and we have observed frequent nursing shortly after the birth, which is encouraging."

波特公园动物园的兽医罗南·尤斯塔斯在一份声明中说:“由于这是多普西首次怀孕，动物护理和兽医工作人员将在今后几周内继续密切监视多普西和她的幼崽。”“但到目前为止，小犀牛看起来很健康，我们观察到它出生后不久就频繁哺乳，这是令人鼓舞的。”

The mother and son are still bonding behind the scenes in the rhino barn, according to the zoo, and since rhinos are not adapted for Michigan winters, they'll remain out of public view until the spring. But that doesn't mean we have to wait till then for news — the zoo staff has promised to share regular updates, photos and videos on social media and the zoo's blog.

根据动物园的说法，母子俩在犀牛棚的幕后仍然亲密无间，而且由于犀牛不适应密歇根的冬天，它们要到春天才会出现在公众视线之外。但这并不意味着我们必须等到那个时候才能得到消息——动物园的工作人员已经承诺在社交媒体和动物园的博客上定期分享更新照片和视频。

'A monumental moment'

“一个值得纪念的时刻”

Black rhinos are one of the five rhinoceros species alive today, and the smaller of the two native to Africa. Their natural habitat stretches across much of southern and eastern Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They are a critically endangered species, still struggling to recover from a population crash last century, which saw their numbers fall from about 100,000 in 1960 to about 2,500 in 1995.

黑犀牛是现存的五种犀牛之一，是两种原产于非洲的犀牛中体型较小的一种。它们的自然栖息地横跨非洲南部和东部的大部分地区，包括肯尼亚、坦桑尼亚、纳米比亚、南非和津巴布韦。它们是一种极度濒危的物种，仍在努力从上个世纪的数量锐减中恢复过来。上个世纪，它们的数量从1960年的约10万只下降到1995年的约2500只。

There were once as many as 850,000 black rhinos in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but their population plummeted during the 19th and 20th centuries due to relentless hunting and land clearing for settlement and farming. The species has fared better in recent years, with its wild population now up to more than 5,000. That's still low, however, and black rhinos continue to face threats from poaching as well as war and civil unrest among humans.

根据国际自然保护联盟(IUCN)的数据，野生黑犀牛曾经多达85万头，但在19世纪和20世纪期间，由于不断的捕猎和为定居和耕作而进行的土地清理，黑犀牛的数量直线下降。近年来，该物种的情况有所好转，其野生种群数量现已超过5000只。然而，这个数字仍然很低，黑犀牛继续面临着偷猎、战争和人类内部动荡的威胁。

The new calf is the first black rhino born in the 100-year history of the Potter Park Zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participates in the AZA's Species Survival Plan, a program designed to ensure the survival and genetic diversity of endangered wildlife at zoos and aquariums. Fewer than 60 black rhinos currently live at AZA-accredited zoos.

新出生的牛犊是波特公园动物园百年历史上诞生的第一头黑犀牛。这头黑犀牛获得动物园和水族馆协会(AZA)的认证，并参加了AZA的《南方物种》维瓦尔计划，一个旨在确保濒危野生动物在动物园和水族馆的生存和遗传多样性的计划。目前在AZA认证的动物园生活的黑犀牛不到60头。

"This is a monumental moment for Potter Park Zoo that has taken our staff years of planning and hard work," said zoo director Cynthia Wagner. "We are dedicated to conserving rhinos and couldn't be more excited about this successful black rhino birth."

动物园园长辛西娅·瓦格纳说:“对于波特公园动物园来说，这是一个具有纪念意义的时刻，我们的工作人员花了多年的时间来计划和努力工作。”“我们致力于保护犀牛，对于这头黑犀牛的成功出生，我们感到无比兴奋。”