The kakapo is the world's heaviest and only flightless parrot. Now, some scientists are using advanced technology to rescue the endangered kakapos. If successful, the techniques used may help save other bird species as well.
The few remaining kakapos live on three small islands, where their progress can be monitored through a smart device. Once found in large numbers across New Zealand, the cute bird, which can weigh up to 11 pounds (about 5 kilograms), is now heading to extinction. While cruel predators (捕食者) such as foxes, cats, and snakes are largely to blame, the kakapo's strange habits of laying eggs don't help either. For starters, the parrots, which can live up to 100 years, do not start laying eggs until the age of five.
Scientists have set up individual feeding stations for all the birds to keep track of how much they eat. Given the difficulties in increasing the population, it is not surprising that only 114 adult parrots remain. Though the number is low, it is a great improvement over the 51 kakapos that remained on Earth in 1995. The increase of its population results from the government's decision to remove the 51 birds to three small predator-free islands off the coast of New Zealand, and the efforts of a team led by Andrew Digby, a kakapo scientist for the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
A four-day-old kakapo chick will receive a health check. Young chicks in nests are examined and weighed every night, to ensure they are healthy.
Once the birds lay eggs, the eggs are carefully moved from the nests and taken to a hatching (孵化) room to hatch. "We tend to be more successful at raising kakapo eggs than the kakapo, " says Digby. "We break less of them." Once the eggs hatch, each mother is given only one chick, while the rest of the newborns are hand-fed (人工喂养). This helps ensure they all receive enough food.
Wildlife officials are using robotic bears to catch poachers(盗猎者)before they can do any damage to real bears.
Robotic taxidermal animals are serving as a new kind of undercover agents. Wildlife officers are using them to attract and catch poachers across the United States, according to the Washington Post.
The officers set up the animals in environments where shooting them is illegal and then wait out of sight for poachers who attempt to shoot. They can control the robots with a remote. Although the robotic animals can't walk or run, they are capable of making smaller movements like lifting their legs or turning their heads. And as recent reports suggest, they're realistic enough to be effective in attracting poachers.
Companies such as Robotic Decoys and Custom Robotic Wildlife sell a variety of mechanical animals, including deer, foxes, and bears. Mike Kleman, owner of Robotic Decoys, explains that he makes the animals by following the general taxidermy procedure of fastening a hide to a form. But then, he adds servo motors(伺服电动机)—the type also used in model cars and airplanes—to the neck, ears, tail, or legs. His robo-animals can be controlled using a radio remote or soon, an app.
Kleman's company is based in Wisconsin, but they ship to officers around the country. The robo-animals range from around $700 for a fox to $4, 800 for a moose, but organizations such as the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust ease the financial burden by donating robotic animals to cash-lacked government agencies. The organization has donated robotic animals to agencies in 16 different states, according to its website.
And in the future, the robo-animal agents could help deal with international poaching problems, too.
"I would like to figure out how to make rhinos, "Kleman told Popular Science. "There's a big issue overseas about rhino poaching. "
One reaction to all the concern about tropical deforestation(森林砍伐)is a blank stare that asks the question, "Since I don't live there, what does it have to do with me?"
The answer is that your way of life, wherever you live in the world, is tied to the tropics(热带地区) in many ways. If you live in a house, wash your hair, eat fruits and vegetables, drink soda, or drive a car, you can be certain that you are affected by the loss of tropical forests.
Biologically, we are losing the richest regions on earth when, each minute, a piece of tropical forest, the size of ten city blocks, disappears. As many as five million species of plants, animals, and insects (40 to 50 percent of all living things) live there, and are being lost faster than they can be found and described. Their loss is immeasurable(不可估量的).
Take rubber for example. For many uses, only natural rubber from trees will do. Synthetics are not good enough. Today over half the world's commercial rubber is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia, while the Amazon's rubber industry produces much of the world's four million tons. And rubber is an important material in making gloves, balloons, footwear(鞋类) and many sporting goods. Thousands of other tropical plants are valuable for their industrial use.
Many scientists strongly believe that deforestation contributes to the greenhouse effect—or heat of the earth from increased carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) in the atmosphere. As we destroy forests, we lose their ability to change carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Carbon dioxide levels could double within the next half-century, warming the earth by as much as 4.5 degrees. The result? Polar ice caps partially melt, raising sea levels as much as 24 feet; even 15 feet could threaten anyone living within 35 miles of the coast. Unbelievable? Maybe. But scientists warn that by the time we realize the serious effects of tropical deforestation, it will be 20 years late.
Can tropical deforestation affect our everyday life? Now, you should have got the answer.
Should We Create More National Parks to Save Endangered Animals?
Don't you find it worrying that more and more species of animals are in real danger of becoming extinct? And I think the best way to do this is for governments to create more national parks.
If this environment is destroyed—for example, when farmers clear a forest for new fields, or trees are cut down to make profits—many animals are unable to survive, and more species are likely to become extinct.
In addition, national parks protect animals from the danger of being hunted. A major reason why many species are endangered is that these animals are killed by hunters. They hunt animals to make money.
On the other hand, some people fight the creation of national parks because they consider it is wrong to interfere with nature. They believe that wild animals are happier to live in their natural environment. They also point out that a few species are more likely to produce young animals in the wild than in national parks.
All in all, these disadvantages are far less important than the benefits of national parks. As a matter of fact, they protect animals from their greatest enemy, that is, human beings.
A. To begin with, animals are important to humans.
B. Some hunters even hunt animals simply for sport.
C. I personally believe that we must save these animals.
D. These parks allow animals to live in a safe environment.
E. Firstly, national parks protect these animals' natural environment.
F. They say that though the animals may face danger, they enjoy a free life.
G. There is a heated discussion about whether to create more national parks.
The young seal couldn't have been more than two days old, and yet he was all alone. Sometimes he would swim 1, but he always came back. At first we thought it was 2 that he kept swimming back to us, until we noticed that he obviously had been 3, and had nowhere else to go. We call him "Curious George".
Without his mother's milk, George appeared very4with his eyes closed. I jumped into the water and swam up to him, 5we were less than two feet away. My heart went out to George and I just hoped that he had the 6 to interact with me. Suddenly, he 7 his eyes and immediately he jumped up between my arms, putting his head against my chest. It was a(n)8 moment. But I knew that George wouldn't 9 without some help.
We10 the local conservation volunteers. They were 11 that in the absence of his mother, he had developed a 12 relationship with us. They promised they would bring him to an area with 13 people living there and keep an eye on him. Even though it was hurt to see him 14, we knew that he was in better hands.
The next day we15 the conservation volunteers and asked what George was doing. 16 the volunteers informed us that he was too close to humans, we realized that that was probably our 17! They decided to bring him to a small island wildlife preserve with a lot of seals in the area, where they could better 18 him.
A week later, we called again, and were informed that George was19 in the water swimming with other seals. George was 20. And he will always swim in my heart.
The Wolong Panda Reserve Research Center was set up in 1958 (save) the declining panda population. The Panda Reserve is a three-hour drive from Chengdu. It's a natural reserve (cover) over 200, 000 hectares. As the (large) panda reserve of all in China, Wolong (add) to UNESCO in 1980.
In 2003, the Wolong Panda Reserve opened up wildlife observation areas, and it (attract) over 100, 000 visitors each year. The Wolong Panda Reserve is also home to other rare and endangered wild animals such as the golden monkey, red panda, and more.
The giant panda is (usual) classified in the bear family, and is native to central and southern China. Pandas' main food is bamboo, but they also eat foods such as fish, eggs, and honey.
Adult pandas have a (long) of 1. 6m to 1.8m, and weight between 176 to 275 pounds. Giant pandas have a large head obvious black patches around the eyes, ears, and the body.
Giant pandas are found in mountainous regions are thick with bamboo trees in Sichuan and Tibet. Pandas reproduce very slowly, and infant mortality(死亡率)is high—these are major reasons why it's such endangered species.
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend's 21st birthday party. He got drunk, fell off some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends online. "And sorry about the focus," he wrote. "It was a selfie(自拍). "That was the first recorded use of the word "selfie", according to some experts at Oxford Dictionaries.
Oxford Dictionaries declared "selfie". In recent years, the act of taking a picture of oneself with a mobile phone, placing the subject center-stage, has won great popularity with everyone from Britain's Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ to U. S. President Barack Obama joining in.
But the rise of selfie photography in some of the world's most beautiful, and dangerous places has also inspired a lot of risk-taking behavior, such as hanging from a tall building, standing in front of a rushing train and crossing a busy street. People who get addicted will never stop taking selfies, completely ignoring where they are. In fact, there have been several reports about people losing their lives while taking selfies. Several governments have now begun treating the selfie as a serious threat to safety, warning visitors to pay attention to the dangers when taking selfies.
"Walt Disney World is also banning selfie-sticks in its theme parks because selfie-sticks have become a growing safety concern for our guests, " Disney World spokeswoman Kim Prunty said under the new policy, and guests will be checked for the equipment during the routine bag check that happens near the parks' entrances.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
This morning, I was jogging in the park when I caught the sight of a wallet on a bench. I picked up and checked the contents. Inside it, I found some money or a card with a phone number. Believe that the owner would be worried, I immediate tried the number. A man answered the call. Hearing that I had his wallet, he smiles with relief and told me he would come to get it right away. Ten minutes late, the man arrived. After confirming he was an owner, I handed him the wallet and he expressed his gratitude to me. Seeing the smile on her face, I felt rather happily that I was able to help.
