More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil’s beaches were flown south by plane, back to the frigid waters they call home, environmentalists said last week.
Onlookers in southern Brazil cheered as the young penguins entered the ocean and quickly swam away. The penguin release was the largest ever in South America.
The penguins were among nearly 1,000 that have washed up on Brazil’s northeastern coast in recent months. About 20 percent of the penguins died and the rest were not healthy enough to send back.
PHOTO: AP
The penguins, which had been kept at an animal rehabilitation center in the northeastern city of Salvador, were flown on an air force plane to southern Brazil and released into the ocean.
Experts hope a small group of older penguins released along with the young ones will help guide them south to Patagonia.
The penguins were fitted with bands on their flippers to determine the success of the rehabilitation.
Environmentalists say it is not known why the penguins were stranded so far north, but suggest they could have been carried beyond their usual range by a flow of warm water. (AP)
環保人士上週表示,莫名其妙被沖到巴西海灘的三百七十餘隻企鵝,已被專機送回南方,回到牠們嚴寒的棲息水域。
圍觀者在巴西南端看到這些小企鵝被放生回大海,且即刻就游走時,發出陣陣歡呼。這次是南美洲最大規模的企鵝放生行動。
最近幾個月來,將近有一千隻企鵝被沖到巴西北端海岸,其中約有兩成死亡,其他的企鵝也因健康情況不良而無法被送回原棲息地。
這些企鵝暫時被安置在巴西東北部薩爾瓦多市的動物養護中心,稍後即被空軍軍機運送回巴西南端海域釋放入海。
專家希望,與大批年輕企鵝一同放生的一些較年長企鵝,會協助帶領企鵝群向南返回巴塔哥尼亞。
這群企鵝腳蹼上被套上標記環,以確認牠們的康復情況。
環保人士說,他們不知道這群企鵝為甚麼會擱淺於這麼北端的沙灘上,但認為牠們應該是被一股溫暖的洋流挾沖而偏離了牠們原先的路徑。
(美聯社�翻譯︰袁星塵)
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
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110