第2308期:Florida’s Snake Hunters(1)

It is after midnight when the windshield fogs up on Thomas Aycock’s pickup truck. He smiles as he slowly drives through the sawgrass and down dirt roads deep in the Florida Everglades. 午夜过后，托马斯·艾科克的皮卡车的挡风玻璃起雾。 他微笑着慢慢开车穿过锯齿草，沿着佛罗里达大沼泽地深处的土路行驶。 His foggy windshield confirms what he knows. When the dew point drops in the middle of the night, it is perfect time for pythons. 他雾蒙蒙的挡风玻璃证实了他所知道的。 当半夜露点下降时，正是蟒蛇出没的最佳时间。 “I catch more pythons when that happens,” Aycock said. The retired U.S. Army veteran always takes part in the Florida Python Challenge. The wildlife commission runs the 10-day event. The aim is to get people interested in finding and catching the snakes.“当这种情况发生时，我会捕获更多的蟒蛇，”艾科克说。 这位退役美国陆军老兵总是参加佛罗里达蟒蛇挑战赛。 野生动物委员会负责举办为期 10 天的活动。 目的是让人们对寻找和捕捉蛇感兴趣。 There is a reason for the timing of the event. Pythons usually hatch from their eggs each August before finding their way into the swamp. 事件发生的时间是有原因的。 蟒蛇通常在每年八月从卵中孵化出来，然后进入沼泽。 Aycock works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He has hunted Burmese pythons in the Everglades for 11 years. Aycok loves snakes. And he loves preserving the Everglades. He understands the “greater ecological issue with these pythons.” 艾科克在佛罗里达州鱼类和野生动物保护委员会工作。 他在大沼泽地猎杀缅甸蟒蛇已经有11年了。 艾科克喜欢蛇。 他喜欢保护大沼泽地。 他了解“这些蟒蛇带来的更大的生态问题”。 The invasive Burmese pythons are doing very well in Florida’s preserved wetlands. Pythons have no natural predators. And they are threatening Florida’s native snakes and mammals. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates tens of thousands live in South Florida. 入侵的缅甸蟒蛇在佛罗里达州受保护的湿地中生存得很好。 蟒蛇没有天敌。 它们正在威胁佛罗里达州的本土蛇和哺乳动物。 美国地质调查局 (USGS) 估计有数万人居住在南佛罗里达州。 The snakes are destroying local wildlife. In one 2012 study, the USGS found that populations of raccoons had declined by 99.3 percent, opossums by 98.9 percent and bobcats by 87.5 percent since the early 2000s. Controlling this hungry snake, scientists say, is a critical goal. 这些蛇正在摧毁当地的野生动物。 美国地质调查局 2012 年的一项研究发现，自 2000 年代初以来，浣熊的数量减少了 99.3%，负鼠减少了 98.9%，山猫的数量减少了 87.5%。 科学家说，控制这条饥饿的蛇是一个关键目标。More than 600 hunters took part in this year’s challenge. Their goal is to beat last year’s top total of 209 pythons killed. The hunter who kills the most wins $10,000. 超过 600 名猎人参加了今年的挑战。 他们的目标是打破去年杀死 209 条蟒蛇的最高记录。 杀死最多的猎人将赢得 10,000 美元。 The competition is designed to create understanding about Florida’s python problem. It has succeeded in doing that. The event has drawn famous people and has led to some reality television shows. 该竞赛旨在加深人们对佛罗里达州蟒蛇问题的了解。 它已经成功地做到了这一点。 该活动吸引了名人，并引发了一些电视真人秀节目。 But the need for python control remains urgent.但对蟒蛇控制的需求仍然迫切。 Since 2017, Florida has been paying about 100 contractors to catch the snakes year-round. 自 2017 年以来，佛罗里达州一直向约 100 名承包商支付费用，让他们全年捕捉蛇。