Today we wish this gentle giant of Florida's warm waters a safe and happy Manatee Awareness Month. Closer cousins to elephants than to fellow sea mammals such as whales and dolphins, manatees follow a fully herbivorous diet of sea grasses and other marine plants—so these fish hanging out with our buddy here needn't fear being feasted upon.
今天，我們祝願生活在佛羅里達州溫暖海域的這隻溫文爾雅的龐然大物度過一個安全而又快樂的海牛宣傳月。與鯨魚和海豚這些海洋性哺乳動物比起來，海象是大象的近親，它們完全以海草和其他海洋植物為食——所以這些魚兒可以輕鬆的和我們的小夥伴一起玩耍，而不用擔心會成為海牛的美餐。
In turn, this manatee doesn't seem to fear whoever took this picture—but maybe a little caution wouldn't hurt it. Human activity is a substantial threat to these curious 'sea cows,' which are often hurt or killed by boat propellers. The good news? Manatee populations near Florida have rallied since their low point in the early 1990s, when it was thought only about 1,200 were left. Current estimates now have their numbers at 5,000 or more.
但是反過來，這隻海牛似乎並不懼怕正在給它拍照的人類——也許適當的給它一點警告反倒是不會傷害到它。人類的活動正在給這些好奇心強的海牛帶來巨大的威脅，它們經常被船隻的螺旋槳絞死。而一則好訊息是，佛羅里達州海岸附近的海牛數量自20世紀90年代初到達低點後就開始反彈，當時人們認為只剩下大約1200頭左右，而目前的估計數字是5000頭或者更多。
圖文來自於網際網路，中文為原創翻譯，轉載請註明出處，請勿用作其它用途，如侵權請聯絡刪除。
