Animal baby boom at Palestinian zoo after people disappear

Animal baby boom at Palestinian zoo after people disappear

人類不來後 巴勒斯坦動物園爆發動物嬰兒潮

【摘要2020.6.18.自由】◎孫宇青

Peacocks, ostriches and baboons joined in an animal baby boom at Palestinian tiny Qalqilya Zoo during the coronavirus closure as they let nature take its course.

巴勒斯坦小型動物園「蓋勒吉利耶」在疫情關閉期間，孔雀、鴕鳥和狒狒都順其自然地迎來一波動物嬰兒潮。

Fifteen animals were born during the two months that it shut its doors to visitors - three times more than usual, zoo officials said.

園方人員說，在不開放遊客的2個月間，15隻動物陸續出生，是平常的3倍。

"The coronavirus spread at the same time that trips were expected at the zoo. They were cancelled and therefore the animals started to give birth," said zoo veterinarian Sami Khader.

動物園獸醫沙米．克哈德說：「新型冠狀病毒流行期間適逢動物園觀光潮，但行程都取消了，動物就開始生產。」

The ostrich that laid eggs in normal years rarely had the chance to incubate them properly. But this year she produced 11 eggs and because there weren’t people around her, she was able to build a nest.

往年，鴕鳥產卵後很少有機會好好孵化，但今年牠不僅產下11顆卵，還能築巢，因為身邊沒有遊客。

In the monkey enclosure, usually bedeviled by miscarriages, one baboon gave birth, although she had little inclination to take care of the baby. "My father had to bring him to our house," said the vet’s daughter, Hind Khader. "I took care of him and gave him milk."

在猴科園區，經常受流產所苦的一隻狒狒順利生產，但牠沒有想要照顧孩子的傾向。獸醫的女兒辛德．克哈德說：「我父親必須把幼狒狒帶回家，由我負責照顧和餵奶。」

新聞辭典

incubate：動詞，孵化。例句：Pythons incubate their eggs by coiling their bodies over them.（巨蟒把身體盤繞在卵上進行孵化。）

bedevil：動詞，使痛苦。例句：She was bedeviled by shoulder pains most of her tennis career.（她大半的網球生涯都受肩膀傷痛所苦。）

miscarriage：名詞，流產。例句：The agony of a miscarriage pushed her to the brink of a breakdown.（流產的痛苦讓她瀕臨精神崩潰邊緣。）