本集內容

App-controlled cows help protect dunes “遙控牛” 保護沙丘生態平衡

學習要點

有關 “cow（牛）” 的詞匯

邊看邊答

What happens to the cows if they ignore the audible warning?

文字稿

These Lincoln Red cattle are highly efficient grazers – devouring grasses, shrubs and bushes with unrivalled enthusiasm.

林肯紅牛是高效的食草動物，它們吃青草、灌木和灌木叢的熱情無與倫比。

The collars they are wearing allow for the remote control of where they graze.

牛脖子上戴的項圈使人們能夠遠程控制它們吃草的范圍。

Owen Beaumont, Natural England
On the map here, we’ve got a satellite map and we can see the pasture that we’ve drawn on, so that...

歐文·博蒙特       英格蘭自然署（Natural England）
“在這張衛星地圖上，我們可以看到標記出來的牧草地……”

And, like so many things nowadays, there’s an app to help with the job.

就像如今的許多事情一樣，有一個應用程序能幫助人們放牧。

Owen Beaumont, Natural England
When they get to the boundary, they get this audible warning – so they kind of know to walk back into the main herd. If they do carry on through those audible warnings, they’ll get a really small pulse – just a fraction of what an electric fence would be.

歐文·博蒙特       英格蘭自然署（Natural England）
“當牛走近標記區域的邊界時，會聽到一個提示音，這樣它們就知道要回到主要的牛群中。假如聽到提示音之后，它們還是繼續往外走，就會感受到一下很輕的電擊，強度比電圍欄的電擊小得多。”

This nature reserve is dominated by its dunes – the flower and insect life here is unique but it’s also under threat. The cattle have a key role to play in removing unwanted vegetation.

這片自然保護區內沙丘遍地，這里的花卉昆蟲非常獨特，但也面臨威脅。這些牛群對于清除過盛的植被至關重要。

These dunes need to be grazed if they are to survive. And, of course, conservationists could just put fences everywhere to direct the cattle. But that doesn’t give them the precision and control of a GPS collar.

如果這些沙丘要繼續存在下去，上面的植被就必須被啃食。當然，保育人士其實只要在各處豎起圍欄，引導牛群就好。但該方法并沒有全球定位系統（GPS）項圈那樣的精度和控制力。

And what about those who will have concerns about using this electric pulse on cattle?

但是有些人會對在牛身上使用電擊感到擔憂，怎么辦？

Owen Beaumont, Natural England
Cattle have been checked out by vets, so we had a vet there when we fitted the collars, and they’ve been studied elsewhere as well, and found to have no impact really on the cows.

歐文·博蒙特       英格蘭自然署（Natural England）
“牛群已經被獸醫檢查過了，安裝項圈的時候，有一位獸醫在場，此外還有其它的研究表明，這種方法對牛并沒什么影響。”

The technology is on trial here – a first for a UK nature reserve – and if successful, we’ll be seeing many more ‘remote control cattle’ playing a key role in conservation.

該技術正在這里試行，這是英國自然保護區的首次試驗，如果成功，我們將看到更多的 “遙控牛” 在保護生態環境方面發揮關鍵作用。

詞匯

cattle （家養的）牛

grazer 吃草的動物

pasture 牧場，牧草地

herd （動物）群

vets 獸醫

問題答案

They get a small electric pulse from their collar.