Lion has vasectomy after siring five cubs in a year

一年繁衍5隻幼獅後 獅子做輸精管切除術

【摘要2021.3.20.自由】◎周虹汶

A lion had a vasectomy on Thursday after his Dutch keepers decided he had sired enough cubs.

一頭獅子週四做了輸精管切除術，在荷蘭保育員確定牠繁衍夠了以後。

Thor, 11, had fathered five cubs with two lionesses in the past year, staff at Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem said.

阿納姆市「柏格動物園」的職員說，11歲的索爾過去一年和2頭母獅子交配後，當了5隻小獅子的爸爸。

Veterinarian Henk Luten said it was the first time in his 35-year career at the zoo that he had carried out the procedure on a lion.

獸醫亨克‧盧滕說，這是他在動物園工作35年以來，第一次在獅子身上進行這項手術。

"Why are we doing it? Because he’s a proven breeder. We have a lot of offspring and we don’t want to have him overpopulating the genetic pool," Luten said.

盧滕說，「我們為什麼這樣做？因事實證明牠很能生。我們有一堆幼獅，不想讓牠在這個基因庫種群過多。」

Staff said they had chosen to carry out a vasectomy not a castration which could have caused Thor to lose his mane, along with his standing in the pride’s social hierarchy. (Reuters)

職員說，他們選擇進行輸精管切除術，而非去勢，後者可能導致索爾掉鬃毛，及喪失在獅群社會階層的地位。（路透）

新聞辭典

sire：名詞，指雄性種獸、種馬、陛下；動詞，指雄性動物繁衍、成為父親。例句：At the age of 70, he married a young woman and went on to sire three more children.（70歲時，他和一個年輕女子結婚，又生了3個孩子。）

proven：形容詞，指被證實的。例句：The case of that man accused of sexual assault was not proven.（那名男子被控性侵案的罪證不足。）

mane：名詞，（馬或獅子的）鬃毛、（人）長而飄逸的頭髮。例句：He has a mane of white hair.（他有一頭白髮。）