湖南洞庭湖40余天發現12只江豚死亡
From March 3rd until April 15th, 12 river dolphins were discovered dead one after another in Dongting Lake in Hunan Province's Yueyang City. In the entire Yangtze River basin, only around 1,200 of this species remain, to the point that its numbers are even less than China's "National Treasure", the giant panda. Apart from Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake has also recently found river dolphins dead, with autopsies revealing that most of these river dolphins shared a common characteristic: There was no food to be found in their digestive systems.
從3月3日到4月15日，湖南嶽陽洞庭湖連續續發現12只江豚死亡。整個長江流域這一物種也僅僅只剩下約1200頭左右，其種羣數量甚至已經比國寶大熊貓還少。不僅是洞庭湖，鄱陽湖近期也發現江豚死亡，屍體解剖發現，這些死亡的江豚大多有一個共同特點：消化系統裏沒有任何食物殘留。
Every April/May is this "National Treasure" river dolphin's most active and most vigorous season. However, this year from March 3rd to April 15th over 12 dolphins have been found dead. It is reported that the river dolphin has been included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a second level protected animal, and has been called the Yangtze River's "living fossil" and "water giant panda".
每年的四五月份是“國寶”江豚活動最頻繁、生命力最旺盛的季節。但今年3月3日到4月15日，湖南嶽陽洞庭湖連續續發現12只江豚死亡。圖爲4月15日，湖南省岳陽市江豚保護志願者在雨中守護死亡的江豚。
Experts say, this many protected species dying in such a short amount of time is unprecedented in the ecological history of the Yangtze River. The present high rate of death signifies that the river dolphin might be the Yangtze River Basin's primary population faced with extinction.
據悉，江豚是被列入《瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約》的國家二級保護動物，被稱作長江生態的“活化石”和“水中大熊貓”。整個長江流域這一物種也僅僅只剩下約1200頭左右，其種羣數量甚至已經比國寶大熊貓還少。圖爲4月13日，湖南省岳陽市漁政站工作人員對死亡的江豚進行體徵勘察。
As autopsies have uncovered, these dead river dolphins had one problem in common: there was no food remaining in their digestive tract. Although the precise cause of death remains uncertain, expert analysis has uncovered three possible causes of death: infectious disease, poisoning, or starvation.
屍體解剖發現，這些死亡的江豚大多有一個共同特點：消化系統裏沒有任何食物殘留。儘管死因尚未明確，但專家分析，導致江豚死亡的原因可能有三個：感染傳染性疾病、中毒、餓死。圖爲4月14日，新華聯富潤公司員工將湖南省岳陽市洞庭大橋以南水域死亡的江豚擡上岸。
April 14th, Hunan province Yueyang city river dolphin protection volunteers bring a dead river dolphin onto shore from the area of the Dongting Lake south of the Dongting Lake Bridge.
4月14日，湖南省岳陽市江豚保護志願者將洞庭大橋以南水域的死亡江豚擡上岸。
