A few hundred aggressive cousins of the threatened northern spotted owl may be killed by government agents with shotguns under a proposed federal plan.
The spotted owl was listed as threatened 17 years ago, and its numbers continue to dwindle through much of its range in the Pacific Northwest, federal officials said in proposing the plan to prevent the species from dying out.
The barred owls have crowded their cousins, the spotted owls, out of prime habitat, sometimes even attacking them. The US Fish and Wildlife Service hopes that thinning the number of barred owls will allow the spotted owl to move back into historic nesting areas.
PHOTO: AFP
The recovery plan envisions removing 12 to 32 barred owls in each of 18 areas, first by luring them with recorded calls and an owl decoy, then by shooting them at close range.
The barred owl is not native to the West Coast, but followed settlers across the continent, scientists say.
Controlling the barred owl is a part of a draft plan that includes work on spotted owl habitat, research and monitoring. It could cost $198 million (NT$6.5 billion) over 30 years — the time the Fish and Wildlife Service says may be needed to bring the spotted owl's numbers to the point of recovery.
The Humane Society of the United States called the plan to kill barred owls nonsensical, saying the bird was not the primary threat to the spotted owl.
"The decline of the spotted owl is not due to the barred owls but to the degradation and destruction of old-growth forests" by the timber industry, the society's Lauren Nolfo-Clements said in a statement.(AP)
根據美國聯邦政府提出的一項計畫,政府單位將以獵槍射殺瀕臨絕種的北美斑梟的幾百隻攻擊性強的近親。
聯邦政府官員在提出預防北美斑梟絕種的計畫中指出,班梟在十七年前被列為瀕臨絕種動物,在太平洋西北區許多棲息地的數量也持續減少。
橫斑林鴞會將牠們的近親北美斑梟逐出重要棲息地,有時甚至會攻擊牠們。美國漁業與野生動物局希望藉由減少橫斑林鴞的數量,讓北美斑梟回到原始棲息地。
這項重生計畫預期在十八個區域內,每區移除十二到三十二隻橫斑林鴞,先用錄製好的叫聲和假貓頭鷹誘餌引誘牠們,再近距離射擊。
科學家表示,橫斑林鴞並非原本就棲息在西海岸,而是跟著移民者跨海而來。
控制橫斑林鴞是草案的一部分,其他還包括致力研究和監控北美斑梟的棲息地。這需耗時三十年,斥資一億九千八百萬美元(新台幣六十五億元),美國漁業與野生動物局表示,需要這麼長的時間才能讓北美斑梟的數量回升。
美國人道協會表示這項屠殺橫斑林鴞的計畫沒有意義,因為橫斑林鴞不是北美斑梟的主要威脅。
美國人道協會的羅倫.諾佛克萊門在一項聲明中表示︰「北美斑梟的數量減少並不是因為橫斑林鴞,而是因為老熟林的減少與破壞。」(美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You