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給兒童介紹海牛這種動物
All About Manatees for Children
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You’re watching FreeSchool!
你正在觀看《基礎校園》！
Let’s learn about manatees!
讓我們來了解一下海牛吧！
Manatees also known as sea cows
海牛又被稱為sea cows
are large slow moving animals
是一種移動緩慢的大型動物
that live in the rivers and marshy coastal areas of West Africa
它們生活在西非 亞馬遜河 加勒比海域 以及墨西哥灣的
the Amazon,the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
河流及沿海沼澤地帶
Manatees are aquatic mammals,
海牛是水生哺乳動物
which means that although they never leave the water where they live
這意味著它們雖然從未離開過它們生活的水域
They must come to the surface every few minutes to breathe air.
但必須每隔幾分鐘浮出水面呼吸空氣
Like all mammals, manatees are warm blooded
就像所有的哺乳動物一樣 海牛是溫血動物
feed their babies milk, and have hair.
通過母乳餵養 有毛髮
They may not look very hairy,
它們可能看起來不是毛茸茸的
but manatees have whisker-like hairs all over their bodies
但是海牛全身都是鬍鬚狀的被毛
that help them sense movement in the water and feel different textures.
這可以讓它們在水中感受運動和不同物質的質感
Since manatees have very poor eyesight,
因為海牛的視力很差
this might help them find the right kind of food to eat.
所以被毛能幫助它們發現合適的食物
Manatees are herbivores meaning they eat plants.
海牛是草食類動物 意味著它們吃植物
They graze on underwater plants like sea grasses and algae
它們以海草和海藻類水下植物為食
for up to eight hours a day
每天進食長達八小時
Grabbing the plants and pulling them into their mouth with their prehensile upper lip.
它們會抓住這些植物 並用可以纏繞的上唇將其拉進嘴裡
They need to eat a lot of food to fuel their huge bodies!
它們巨大的身軀需要大量的食物供給！
Manatees can be as heavy as 1200 lbs or 550 kg,
海牛可重達1200磅或550千克
and regularly reach lengths of 10 feet or 3 meters.
通常體長10英尺或3米
That’s as big as a small whale!
就像一隻小鯨魚那麼大！
Manatees may be big, but they are not fat!
海牛可能體積很大 但是並不胖！
Unlike other aquatic mammals like seals and walruses,
與海豹及海象等其他水生哺乳動物不同
manatees do not have blubber to protect them from cold temperatures,
海牛沒有鯨脂可抵禦低溫
which means that they can only survive in warm waters.
這意味著它們只能在溫暖的水域中存活
Something interesting about manatees is that they grow new teeth all the time
關於海牛很有趣的一點是它們會一直長出新的牙齒
The sea grass and aquatic plants that manatees eat
海牛吃的海草和水生植物
are frequently covered in sand
頻繁地被沙子覆蓋
which wears down their teeth.
這些沙子很容易磨損它們的牙齒
Once a worn tooth falls out,
一旦磨損的牙齒脫落
a new tooth moves forward to take its place
新的牙齒就會向前移動替代壞牙
and another tooths begins growing in the back of their mouth.
而口腔後部也會開始長出一顆牙齒
Manatees can swim as quickly as 20 miles or 32 km/h for short distances
海牛短途遊動速度能達到20海裡或32千米每小時
but they usually drift along at 3 miles or about 5 km/h.
但通常會以3海裡或5千米每小時的速度慢慢遊動
Because they live in warm, shallow waters and move so slowly
因為它們生活在溫暖的淺海 移動緩慢
manatees may often have algae, barnacles, and other things
所以海藻 藤壺 或其他動植物
grow and build up on their thick, wrinkled skin
可能會經常生長並堆積在它們厚而褶的皮膚上面
and they can’t get it off
而它們卻無法將其甩掉
Fortunately there’s someone willing to help the manatees out: cleaner fish.
幸運的是 有人樂意幫助海牛 清潔魚
Cleaner fish will approach manatees and nibble away algae, parasites,
清潔魚會靠近海牛 吞噬海藻 寄生生物
and dead skin that covers their back
和背上的死皮
leaving the manatees cleaner and much more comfortable.
讓海牛更乾淨更加舒適
People think that a long time ago,
人們認為很久以前
sailors might have mistaken manatees for mermaids,
水手們很可能把海牛誤認為美人魚
and if you look at their skeletons you can understand why!
如果你看一看它們的骨架 就能理解為什麼了
The bones of the flippers look like arms with hands and fingers
鰭的骨頭看上去很像有手和手指的手臂
but anyone who got a good look at a manatee’s face
但只要仔細觀察海牛的面部
would know the difference right away.
你就會立刻發現二者的區別
When the explorer Christopher Columbus
當探險家克里斯多福·哥倫布
visited the new world in 1493,
在1493年訪問新大陸的時候
He reported seeing mermaids in the warm coastal waters,
他描述在溫暖的沿海海域看到美人魚
although according to him,
儘管根據他的描述
These mermaids were not half as beautiful as they are painted
這些美人魚與人們畫出的美人魚的美麗程度相去甚遠
Today, people and manatees have a very different relationship.
今天 人類和海牛擁有非常不一樣的關係
Manatees have no natural predators and may live up to 60 years in the wild,
海牛沒有天敵 在野外可以活到60歲
but all species of manatees are vulnerable to extinction
但是所有種類的海牛都瀕臨滅絕
due to habitat loss and collisions with boats,
由於棲息地的減少和船隻碰撞
which kills many manatees a year.
造成每年大量的海牛死亡
People are trying to protect manatees by making it illegal to kill them,
人們試圖通過制定禁止捕殺海牛的法律
preserving their habitats,
維護其棲息地
and creating safe zones where boats may not travel or must go slowly.
以及創建低速航行甚至禁航的安全水域來保護它們
Because of these efforts,
因為這些努力
some manatee populations are beginning to recover!
海牛的數量開始恢復了！
I hope you enjoyed learning about manatees today.
希望你們喜歡今天關於海牛的介紹
Goodbye till next time!
下次再見！
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