Lobos in limbo: The halting recovery of the Mexican wolf兩難境地中的灰狼們：停滯的墨西哥狼恢復計劃

Lobos in limbo: The halting recovery of the Mexican wolf

兩難境地中的灰狼們：停滯的墨西哥狼恢復計劃

BY AMY MATHEWS AMOS FEBRUARY 07 2018

Source: Lobos in limbo: Thehalting recovery of the Mexican wolf | Human Impact | Earth Touch News

Author: AMY MATHEWS AMOS

FEBRUARY 07 2018

When Sonora wandered across the border from Mexico into the United States last March, she didnt know what she was heading into. As a wolf, she couldnt know that the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) had been pondering how to recover Mexican wolves in the states of Arizona and New Mexico since 1982, when there were no wild wolves left in the Southwest. She couldnt know that USFWS was facing widespread opposition from ranchers over its plans to reintroduce her subspecies – a strain of the grey wolf that once roamed across most of North America. Or that conservation groups had filed their own lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act to demand that FWS complete a recovery plan ensuring that she and her offspring could thrive. Last month, FWS finally completed that plan. But the controversy isnt over yet.

去年三月，當索諾拉悠遊自在地穿過墨美邊境進入美國的時候，她並不知道她將面對著怎樣的命運。作為一條狼，她自然不可能知道自從1982年來，美國魚類及野生動物管理局（USFWS）就一直在為如何恢復亞利桑那州和新墨西哥州的墨西哥狼種群而反覆推敲；在那時，西南地區已經不剩什麼野生狼了。她也不知道在針對她的種群——一種足跡一度遍布北美洲大部分地區的灰狼亞種——的再引入計劃中，USFWS正面臨著來自農場主們堆積如山的反對意見。保護組織已依據《瀕危物種法案》對FWS提起訴訟，要求FWS完成一項能夠確保她和她的後裔能夠繁衍生息的種群恢復計劃。在上個月，FWS終於完成了那項計劃，但是針對這項計劃的爭議卻並未就此結束。

譯註：為了保證在中文語義下的流暢性和自然性，譯者根據自己的理(nao)解(bu)和常(zi)識(shi)，將本文中一些本義為「狼」的詞語增補為「灰狼」或者「墨西哥狼」。

Sonora was only ten months old when she made the long trek from Chihuahua, Mexico to private ranchland in the Chiricahua region of southern Arizona. She had travelled more than 90 miles (140 km) and arrived alone and undoubtedly hungry. For several days, she was spotted by a wildlife manager from the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, as well as local ranch-hands. She had spent half of her life in captivity – born at a captive-breeding centre in Cananea, Mexico – so perhaps its not surprising that she didnt seem too perturbed when people tried to scare her off the ranch. Only five months earlier, Mexicos Comisión Nacional De Areas Naturales Protegidas (CONAP) had released her and her family with the optimistic hope that her pack would thrive. It didnt. So Sonora wandered north though patchy habitat until she reached the US.

當索諾拉從墨西哥的奇瓦瓦州開始她漫長的跋涉時，她才僅僅只有十個月大。她從墨西哥一路來到了南亞利桑那州奇里卡華地區的私人牧場。跨越了90多英里（140多公里）的旅途抵達了旅程的終點後，她形單影隻，而且毋庸質疑地忍受著飢餓。幾天以來，不僅是亞利桑那州漁獵局的一位野生動物管理員，就連當地的農場工人也目擊到了她的身影。考慮到自從她在墨西哥卡納內阿的一個圈養繁殖中心出生以來，已經在圈養狀態下度過了半生，當人們試圖把她從牧場嚇跑的時候，她處變不驚的樣子也就變得情有可原了。在僅僅五個月以前，墨西哥全國自然保護（區？）委員會放歸了她和她的家人，並樂觀地希望她的狼群能夠繁榮興旺，然而卻事與願違。因此，她漫步向北，穿過墨西哥支離破碎的棲息地，直到抵達美國。

But failing to flee at the sight of humans in Arizona was a mistake. Particularly when ranchers reported livestock killed in the area. Wildlife officials determined that a wolf had killed at least one of those animals and Sonora was the prime suspect. So, soon after she crossed the border, she was promptly recaptured.

但是對狼來說，在亞利桑那州未能遠離人類的視線是個錯誤——尤其是當農場主們報告說當地的牲畜被殺死的時候。野生動物官員判斷有隻狼要為至少一起家畜死亡事件買單，而索諾拉則成了主要嫌犯。所以在她穿過邊境後不久，就立即被重新抓捕了。

Social engineering

狼群社會設計

As a potentially fertile female Mexican wolf, Sonora is extremely valuable. With no other wolves at the Arizona border, she was transferred to a holding facility at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, where she stayed until November. Then, USFWS moved her to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas, one of more than 50 captive-breeding facilities scattered throughout the US and Mexico where wolf DNA is closely examined and wolf mating carefully planned. Thats because the roughly 400 Mexican wolves alive in the world today – most of them in captivity – are descended from only seven animals that survived the American slaughter of predators for centuries. If the subspecies is to stand a chance at recovery, every pairing must be carefully engineered to minimise inbreeding and maximise what little genetic diversity remains. Because Sonora is from Mexico, she brings valuable new genes into the US population. And according to USFWS biologist Maggie Dwire, she pairs well with the males at Sedgwick.

作為一匹有生育能力的雌性墨西哥狼，索諾拉具有極高的價值。由於在亞利桑那州的邊境附近並沒有其它的狼，她被轉移到了位於[數據刪除]（劃掉）新墨西哥州塞維利亞國家野生動物保護區的一處收容設施中，Site-233已圍繞其建立以對其進行收容，並保持著動物保護機構的外觀（劃掉），並在那裡一直呆到了十一月，直到USFWS將她送到了位於堪薩斯州的塞奇威克郡動物園-——遍及美國和墨西哥的50多個收容繁育設施中的一個。每一匹狼的DNA都在那裡接受嚴格的檢驗，並且依據結果對其制訂了細緻的交配計劃。這是因為在現存的約400匹墨西哥狼——其中大部分處於人工馴養條件下——中，都是幾個世紀以來針對美國食肉動物的屠戮中倖存下來七匹墨西哥狼的後裔。如果要讓這個亞種抓住復興的希望，那麼每一次配對都必須被謹慎地設計，以求將近親交配的風險降到最低，並儘可能地提高本已所剩無幾的基因多樣性。由於索諾拉來自墨西哥，她為美國的墨西哥狼種群帶來了珍貴的新基因。根據USFWS的生物學家瑪吉·德懷爾的說法，她已和塞奇威克的公狼們打成一片，夫婦彼此親密無間。

A few weeks after Sonoras transfer, I shivered in the cold dark of a December dawn at Sevilleta along with about two dozen volunteers helping USFWS biologists oversee the capture and transfer of four other captive wolves to another facility: a mated pair and their two teenage pups. In the one-acre enclosure, we humans formed a formidable walking wall of boards, nets and poles, to scare the wolves into their wooden den. The pups hid first – seeking refuge in the den together. But they were no match for the transfer team. Muzzled and hooded, they endured the blood samples, physical exam and shots administered by the team. Then they were lifted into crates on the back of a pickup truck for a three-hour ride south. The parents were harder to corner, but soon they too were on their way. Once settled in their new home, they would likely breed again, with some of their offspring "cross-fostered" with wild wolves.

在轉移索諾拉的幾周後，我在塞維利亞十二月陰沉寒冷的黎明中瑟瑟發抖，與大約兩打志願者一起幫助USFWS的生物學家們監督四匹狼——一對交配過的狼和牠們的半大幼崽——的抓捕工作，並協助將牠們和轉運到其他設施。在一英畝的圍場中，我們組成了一堵人牆，用滑雪板、捕獸網和滑雪杖把狼趕回了他們的木製狼窩裡。小狼崽們先藏了起來，在狼窩裡抱團尋求保護，但是牠們並不是轉運團隊的對手。套上嘴套和眼罩後，牠們被採集了血樣、接受了體檢，並被轉運團隊拍攝了照片以便管理。接著，牠們被拎進了一輛皮卡後的板條箱中，開始了三個小時的南下旅途。把牠們的父母逼進角落要困難一些，但隨後的不久，牠們也同樣出發了。一旦在牠們的新家安頓下來，牠們將有機會再次繁衍生息，而牠們的一部分後裔和野狼之間進行交叉撫養。

譯註：Cross-fostering is a technique used in animal husbandry, animal science, genetic and nature versus nurture studies, and conservation, whereby offspring are removed from their biological parents at birth and raised by surrogates. This can also occasionally occur in nature.（說實話我也不知道該不該翻譯成這個）

Source: Cross-fostering - Wikipedia

Cross-fostering captive pups with wild ones helps reduce the controversy surrounding wolf reintroduction, according to Dwire. "When releasing a captive pack, you need to find an area without an existing pack. And youre introducing a na?ve adult wolf with pups into the area," she notes. "But with cross-fostering, you just add two more pups from captivity to a wild wolf. This eliminates the na?ve component and eliminates putting wolves where they werent before."

根據德懷爾的說法，將飼養的幼崽與野狼的進行交叉撫養能夠減少圍繞著灰狼再引入進程的諸多爭議。「當放歸一個人工飼養的狼群的時候，（首先）你需要找到一個沒有現存狼群的區域；（其次，）你得明白將要引入這個區域的，會是毫無人生經驗??的、帶崽的成年狼，」她說，「但是有了交叉撫養，你只需要在一隻野狼的基礎上再加上兩隻人工飼養的幼崽，就能消除這種缺乏經驗??的情況，並且不再需要將狼放到牠們未曾存在過的地區。」

How many wolves do we need?

我們需要多少狼？

I was at the Sevilleta facility just one week after USFWS released its final recovery plan. More than 100,000 Americans had submitted comments on the draft plan in previous months, the vast majority supporting the reintroduction of wolves into the wild. But that part of the equation was no longer in question. USFWS has been releasing captive-bred wolves into an "experimental population area" south of Interstate Highway 40 in Arizona and adjacent New Mexico since 1998. By 2016, those wild wolves numbered 113 across both states.

在USFWS發布他們的最終恢復計劃之後的一周，我正在塞維利亞的設施里。之前的數月中，超過100000名美國人在計劃的草稿下提交了評論，其中絕大多數支持這項將墨西哥狼再引入荒野的計劃。不過，民眾意見徵求本身已經不再是問題了。自1998年開始，USFWS在亞利桑那州和毗鄰的新墨西哥州的40號公路以南建立了一片「種群（恢復）實驗區域」，並開始向這裡放歸人工飼養條件下長大的墨西哥狼。截至2016年，在這片橫跨兩州的實驗區中生活的野狼已經編到了113號。

But there were other urgent questions that remained. How many wolves would it take to recover the subspecies? How many populations are needed? Would they be allowed to roam north of the highway? With wolf numbers even lower in Mexico, wont populations on both sides of the border need to mix if the subspecies is to survive? And what about that border wall President Donald Trump wants to build?

但是其它亟待解決的問題仍然存在。到底需要多少匹狼才能恢復墨西哥狼這一灰狼亞種？到底要建立幾個墨西哥狼種群？牠們應該被允許穿過州際高速公路一路北上嗎？考慮到在美國的墨西哥狼數量甚至多於墨西哥，為了幫助這個物種生存下去，國境兩側的種群是否需要被混合？還有，該拿總統特朗普想要在邊境線上修建的那堵界牆怎麼辦？

In general, ranchers and hunters call for fewer wolves in a smaller area. Wolves prey on livestock and hunt wild elk as a mainstay of their diet. In contrast, conservationists want more wolves with additional populations in northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon and up into the states of Utah and Colorado – far north of the current Interstate 40 boundary. They cite a previous draft recovery plan from 2012 that called for three separate populations in the US totalling at least 750 wolves across the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado to allow Mexican wolves to recover. But all four governors of those states oppose any reintroductions north of Interstate 40, maintaining that the southern region, combined with habitat in Mexico, represents the wolfs historical range. Both the Arizona and New Mexico Game and Fish Commissions, which set wildlife policies in their states, have voted in recent years to deny releases of wolves.

總的來說，牧場主和獵人們一直在呼籲減少狼的數量和佔地。（對於前者，）狼以家畜為食；（對於後者，獵人垂涎的）野生麋鹿也是牠們的食譜中的重要組成部分。與此相對，動物保護主義者們則希望墨西哥狼的數量能夠得到擴充，而其種群則應沿著亞利桑那州以北的大峽谷一路北上，直到猶他州和科羅拉多州——遠比目前的40號州際公路界限更要向北得多。他們引用了一份先前的2012年恢復計劃的草稿來呼籲在美國建立三個不同的橫跨亞利桑那州、新墨西哥州、猶他州和科羅拉多州的墨西哥狼種群，並繁育至少750匹狼來讓這一物種繁衍生息。但是相關四個州的州長均反對任何越過40號州際公路繼續向北拓展的新再引入計劃，而認為僅僅維持南部地區的計劃，並和墨西哥的棲息地結合，就能恰好勾勒出墨西哥狼歷史上的分布範圍。即使是在本州內頒布相關野生動物政策的亞利桑那州和新墨西哥州的漁獵委員會，也都投票否決了向野外放歸更多的墨西哥狼的提案。

Conservationists and many wolf biologists, meanwhile, cite genetic analyses suggesting that the Mexican wolfs historical range spread far beyond the limited area identified by USFWS and the states. They argue that as the climate changes, Mexican wolves will need the freedom to expand into prime stomping grounds farther north. And they note that habitat in Mexico is questionable: its largely private ranchland, not public, with scanty data on available prey and lots of illegally killed wolves.

與此同時，動物保護主義者們和許多研究狼的生物學家引用了遺傳學上的分析結果，來證明墨西哥狼的歷史分布範圍要遠遠廣於USFWS和這些州所鑒定的限制區域。他們爭辯說隨著氣候變化，墨西哥狼將會需要將牠們涉足的土地（？）擴展到更遠的北方的自由。與此同時，他們指出位於墨西哥的棲息地仍然存在問題：它囊括了巨大的私人牧場，而非公共土地，因此不僅獵物的統計數據稀少，更有相當多的狼被非法殺害。

Coexistence

和平共處

People like Sisto Hernandez walk the middle ground. Hernandez is a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona – an official partner in the recovery effort – and is the tribes range management specialist. Much of the tribes economy depends on ranching. He chairs the Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council, a public-private effort involving ranchers, conservationists, tribes and counties that helps ranchers live alongside wolves. "People dont have to love the wolf," says Hernandez. "They just have to feel they can live with it."

像西斯托·埃爾南德斯這樣的人傾向於選擇中庸之道。埃爾南德斯是亞利桑那州白山阿帕奇族部落的一位成員，也是為恢復計劃做出努力的一位官方合作夥伴。與此同時，他還是部落里的草原管理專家——部落的許多收入都來源於經營牧場。他在墨西哥狼與家畜和平共處理事會中就任要職，該組織包括牧場主、動物保護主義者、印第安部落原住民和郡政府工作人員在內，公私兼并，且以幫助牧場主們與狼和平共處為宗旨。「人們並不非得愛上狼，」埃爾南德斯說，「他們只需要明白他們能與狼和平共處就行了。」

Members of the council have differing views on the wolf, but theyve committed to work together on three goals: healthy western landscapes, self-sustaining wolf populations and viable ranching. "We do a lot better when we help each other," says Hernandez.

理事會的成員對狼的意見各不相同，但是他們都已決定為三個目標而共同努力：幫助西部生態風景恢復健康，幫助墨西哥狼繁衍直到其能自給自足，並讓牧場煥發生機。「當我們互相幫助時，我們就能做得更好。」埃爾南德斯說。

「People dont have to love the wolf. They just have to feel they can live with it.」

「人們並不非得愛上狼，他們只需要明白他們能與狼和平共處就行了。」

With the help of federal funds, the council goes beyond traditional programmes that compensate ranchers for the loss of livestock to wolves. It pays ranchers within wolf territory even if they dont lose any animals, and it encourages management actions that reduce livestock-wolf conflict. That includes increasing human presence through their range-riders programme.

因為有了聯邦基金的幫助，和傳統的賠償牧場主因狼襲擊家畜而造成的經濟損失的方法不同，理事會做出了更多的努力。他們向每一戶居住在狼的領地中的牧場主發放補貼，即使他們並沒有遭到狼的襲擊而損失任何家畜。與此同時，他們鼓勵農場主施行能夠減少牲畜和狼之間的衝突的管理措施。這包括通過推廣他們的牧場騎手（？）計劃來增加人類在這一地區的存在感。

"[Range riders] isnt just cowboy work," Hernandez told me. "Its about knowing where the wolves like to be, their dens, trails, roads they are likely to use. Range riders have to know what to anticipate to help ranchers make management decisions that lessen the likelihood of conflict. Its not an easy job. It takes the right person to do it."

「（牧場騎手）並不只干牛仔的活計，」埃爾南德斯告訴我，「這份工作需要洞悉狼可能出現的位置，包括牠們的獸穴、牠們的蹤跡和牠們可能使用的小道。騎手們需要明白自己該預測些什麼，並幫助牧場主執行管理決策以減少這種衝突發生的可能性。這可不是個輕鬆活，需要選則正確的人選來從事它。」

Each year, the council also pays ranchers in wolf territory based on how many conflict-avoidance measures a rancher enacts and – perhaps most importantly – the number of wolf pups that survive on the ranch. Although many consider the initiative a success, not everyone has bought into it. The council keeps the names of ranchers who apply for assistance anonymous in order to avoid reprisals from what Hernandez calls "extremists" on both sides. "There are people who can make things difficult and we dont want to discourage [rancher] participation because [they fear] people might cut their fences, make threatening phone calls, or do worse things to sabotage their ranch."

每年，理事會也會根據牧場主們制定了多少迴避衝突的措施，以及最重要的——有多少狼崽在他們的牧場上生存下來了——來向牧場主們支付補貼。許多人認為這項開創性的舉措非常成功，但是並不是每個人都會為它買賬。理事會將申請援助的牧場主們的名單保持匿名，以免他們遭到（牧場主和動物保護主義者）兩派之中的那些被埃爾南德斯稱為「極端主義者」的人的報復。「這些人確實會讓事情變得非常難辦，而我們並不想讓（得到補貼的牧場主們為）柵欄被切斷、受到恐嚇電話，或者（為）他們的牧場可能遭到更嚴重的破壞（而感到害怕），以至於在參與計劃時感到氣餒。」

Thats the world Sonora wandered into last spring.

這就是在上個春天索諾拉悠遊自在地走進美國國境的時候，世界上正在發生的事情。

Final recovery or more controversy?

是執行最終恢(bu)復(wan)計劃，還是再引發更多的爭論？

The final recovery plan released in late November scales back the recovery goals recommended in 2012. In it, USFWS maintains that only two populations of wolves would be needed to "ensure a 90 percent probability of persistence over 100 years" – rather than the three populations determined by scientists in 2012. The two populations would consist of 320 wolves in southern Arizona and New Mexico, plus a smaller population of 200 in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains in Mexico, managed by CONAP. The US population would be limited to southern Arizona and New Mexico, south of Interstate 40.

最終的恢復計劃在十一月的晚些時候發布了，按比例縮減了2012年版草稿中建議的恢複目標。在新的計劃中，USFWS主張只有兩個墨西哥狼種群——而非2012年科學家所判斷的三個——需要「確保（它們）在100年內成功延續的幾率達到90%」。這兩個種群將由亞利桑那州和新墨西哥州南部的320匹狼構成。此外，墨西哥獅子山馬德雷西部山脈由CONAP管理的200匹狼還將組成的一個更小的種群。在美國的種群將會被限制在亞利桑那州和新墨西哥州的南部，並以40號州際公路為界。

Draft recovery-planning documents suggest that USFWS considers 320 animals to be what it calls the level of "social tolerance" for wolves. Conservation groups call it caving to the states. On January 30th, several groups sued the agency for, as they claim, violating the Endangered Species Act.

在恢復計劃草稿的建議下，USFWS認為320匹狼就會達到所謂的「社會容忍水平」。動物保護團體將其理解為向州政府屈服。在一月三十日，幾個團體向該部門提起訴訟，聲稱其違反了瀕危物種保護法案。

Moreover, under the final plan, the US and Mexican populations wont even have to be connected. The agency expects few wolves will cross the questionable habitat between the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains in Mexico and the US border, at least not enough to ensure adequate gene flow. If that dispersal were completely stopped – such as by a border wall – the impact would be minimal, according to USFWS. To compensate, it intends to continue its intensive, hands-on breeding programme and translocations, what it calls "artificial or assisted connectivity".

此外，在最終版本的計劃中，美國和墨西哥的種群之間甚至不再需要跨種群交流。USFWS希望跨越墨西哥獅子山馬德雷西部山脈和美國邊境之間的問題重重的棲息地的狼越少越好，直到不足以確保充足的基因流動。USFWS認為，如果這樣的流動完全停止——譬如說被一道界牆阻攔，其（對計劃）所帶來的影響也將會降到最小。作為（對基因多樣性的）補償，他們意圖繼續執行先前手把手的集中繁育計劃及位置遷移，稱其為「人工協助跨種群交流」。

Sonora seems to be an outlier – one of only a handful of natural dispersals across the border in recent years. For now, shell remain in captivity, to breed pups that might or might not roam the wilds of the American Southwest. Meanwhile, with fresh legal challenges now facing it, the recovery plan remains in limbo. And the centuries-old feud between rancher and predator continues. But there is hope.

索諾拉似乎成了一匹局外狼——近年來少量因自然散布跨過邊境的狼中的一匹。目前，她將保持圈養狀態，並繁育她的幼崽——牠們將來或許能在美國西南部的荒野中漫步，或許又不能。誰知道呢？與此同時，由於面臨著最新的法律挑戰，恢復計劃陷入了兩難(jiang)境地(ju) ??。牧場主和食肉動物之間幾個世紀以來的爭執仍然在延續。不過，墨西哥狼們仍然還有希望。

"Just remember," Hernandez told me as we ended our conversation, "were not all like that."

「記著，」採訪結束後，埃爾南德斯對我說，「並非我們中的所有人都像那樣。」

AMY MATHEWS AMOS

AFTER SPENDING MOST OF HER LIFE ON THE U.S. EAST COAST (AND FAR TOO LONG BATTLING BAD CONSERVATION POLICIES IN THE NARROW-MINDED HALLS OF CONGRESS), AMY MATHEWS AMOS NOW WRITES ABOUT WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES FROM THE WIDE-OPEN SPACES OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. FOLLOW HER WORK AT AMYMATHEWSAMOS.COM OR ON TWITTER @AMYMATAM. VIEW MORE FROM THIS CONTRIBUTOR

Earth Touch ? 2018

Translator: @澪狼

Proofreader: @澪狼 @warthog @殘夢微冷 @randolph @幻翼狼影

特別感謝大佬 @幻翼狼影 提供的泡麵（劃掉）和關於生物學上的翻譯支持。

特別感謝家狼 @warthog 的校對，這是經過反覆權衡後的最終版本，祝天下有情嗷情狼節快樂。

百度貼吧：【翻譯】180208 兩難境地中的灰狼們：停滯的墨西哥狼恢復計劃（內含彩♂蛋）

微信公眾號：[數據編輯]

加入百度狼吧官方群「逐月之夜」（138792564）可獲取本文的 doc 文檔。

順便，這篇是我目前為止翻譯過的最長和最難的文章，因為水平等各種原因的限制，如各位所見充滿了翻譯腔。一直拖了好幾天才基本完成。感覺大(shen)腦(ti)被掏空……順便謝謝大佬們投喂的泡麵（死