SECTION 4

Today we continue our series on ecology and conservation with a look at a particularly endangered member of the black bear family.

今天我们会继续我们有关生态和保护的系列，来看一看黑熊家族里一个特别濒危的成员。

One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few.

十头黑熊中会有一头在生下来时会有白色的皮毛。这是因为在某些熊身上显现出来的特别基因。

Local people have named it 'the spirit bear'.

当地人叫它们“精灵熊”。

And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power.

并且根据这些地区的传说，这种雪白的皮毛给它们带来了特殊的力量。

Because of this, it has always been highly regarded by them – so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else.

正因为此，它常常受到人们的高度尊敬，甚至人们在看到它之后都不会告诉任何其他人。

It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.

这就是当有陌生人来到这个地区时，人们保护它的方式。

The white bear's habitat is quite interesting.

白熊的栖息地很有意思。

The bear's strong relationship with the old-growth rainforest is a complex one.

熊和古老的雨林关系十分复杂。

The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways.

在很多方面，白熊都依赖于有好几世纪树龄的大树。

For example, the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams.

比如，高龄的大树的有着十分长的根系，可以抵御鱼群居住的小溪沿岸的土壤侵蚀。

Keeping these banks intact is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear's main food source.

保持这些堤岸完好无缺很重要，因为这些小溪是鲑鱼的老家。而鲑鱼是熊的主要食物来源。

In return, the bear's feeding habits nurture the forest.

作为回报，熊的捕食习惯也养育了森林。

As the bears eat the salmon, they discard the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients.

当熊吃鲑鱼时，大量的鱼皮和鱼骨被丢弃在林地表面，这为树林提供了重要的养料。

These produce lush vegetation that sustains thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.

这供养了葱翠的植被，它们维持着数以千计的不同种类的生物形式，从鸟类到昆虫等等。

Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands.

今天，精灵熊居住在不列颠哥伦比亚省几个沿海的小岛上。

There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain.

由于估算现在只剩了不到200头这种白熊，它们的生存情况广受关注。

The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the delicate balance of their forest environment – in other words, their ecosystem.

保护它们最好的方式是想尽办法来维护它们的森林环境脆弱的平衡，换句话说，也就是它们的生态体系。

The greatest threat to the bear's existence is the loss of its habitat.

对于这些熊最大的威胁是栖息地的丧失。

Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees.

在过去的若干年里，伐木公司通过砍伐大量树木而剥夺了土地。

In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost.

除此以外，他们还修建道路。这些路把熊通常找食的地区割裂开来，白熊已经无处冬眠。

The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish.

沿着溪流进行的伐木破坏了熊捕鱼的地方。

To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment.

让事情更糟的是，因为目前没有对捕鱼做出限制的法律，在那些溪流里的鲑鱼数量也减少了。

All these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear's very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low.

所有这些对精灵熊的生存产生了消极的影响。令人失望的是，由于这些熊的繁育率极低，它们更加岌岌可危。。

And so, what's the situation going forward?

所以，未来的形势是什么样的呢？

Community organizations, environmental groups and the British Columbia government are now working together on the problem.

现在社会组织、环保团体和不列颠哥伦比亚政府共同解决这个问题。

The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method, which is a positive step.

政府现在要求伐木公司采取更好的砍伐方式，这是积极的一步。

However, these measures alone may not be sufficient to ensure a healthy population of the spirit bear in the future.

但是，单独采取这些措施对于确保未来精灵熊健康繁殖可能还不够。

Other steps also need to be taken.

也要采取其他的措施。

While it is important to maintain the spirit bear's habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion.

保护精灵熊的栖息地固然重要，但同时也需要扩大栖息地面积。

The move is justified as it will also create space for other bears that are losing their homes ...

这一举措的合理之处是它可以为其他熊创造生存空间……