英国的天鹅总是排成一行
英国的天鹅总是排成一行
Every year for five days, all the swans and young cygnets belonging to Queen Elizabeth II are counted, checked and tagged along the river Thames.
每年有五天，所有属于伊丽莎白女王二世的天鹅和小天鹅都会在泰晤士河沿岸被清点、检查和标记。
No one knows for certain when the ceremony first began, according to the event's official educational brochure, but the earliest written record of the swan as a royal bird dates to 1186. Originally the event was a ritual to keep track of breeding stock and to ensure there were sufficient birds for feasting, but now the process is more about conservation, reports The Guardian.
根据该活动的官方教育手册，没有人确切地知道仪式什么时候开始的，但天鹅作为皇家鸟类的最早书面记录可以追溯到1186年。据《卫报》报道，最初，这项活动是一种仪式，目的是跟踪繁殖的鸟类数量，确保有足够的鸟来享用大餐，但现在这个过程更多的是为了保护鸟类。
"Today the English crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked swans in open water, although in practice this privilege is only exercised by the queen on certain stretches of the Thames," Reuters reports.
据路透社报道:“如今，英国王室保留了所有在公开水域中没有标记的天鹅的所有权，尽管实际上只有女王在泰晤士河的某些河段才行使这项特权。”
Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Now swan upping takes place annually the third week in July. Dressed in scarlet red uniforms, swan uppers ride down the river in wooden skiffs until they locate a brood of mute swans (a species of swan). They slowly surround the birds with their boats until they can be lifted from the water. The swans and cygnets are taken ashore where they are weighed, measured and checked for disease and injury.
现在每年7月的第三周，天鹅的数量就会上升。穿着鲜红色制服的天鹅管理人员乘着木船顺河而下，直到他们找到一窝沉默的天鹅(天鹅的一种)。他们用小船慢慢地把鸟围起来，直到把它们从水里拉上来。天鹅和小天鹅被带到岸上，在那里它们被称重，测量和检查疾病和伤害。
“We will lift the whole family out of the water, we will take them ashore, we weigh them, measure them and check them for any injuries,” David Barber, the queen’s official swan marker, told Reuters. “You have a population of swans that hasn’t changed much since the mid 1800s.”
女王的官方天鹅标记员大卫·巴伯在接受路透社采访时表示:“我们将把它们全家人从水里抬出来，带它们上岸，我们会给它们称重、测量并检查它们是否受伤。自19世纪中期以来，天鹅的数量没有多大变化。”
Barber told Reuters he would be pleased if they found about 100 cygnets this year.
巴伯告诉路透社，如果他们今年能找到大约100只小天鹅，他会很高兴。
Now and throughout the year, injured or sick swans are rescued and cared for, then re-released after they are treated.
现在和全年，受伤或生病的天鹅被拯救和照顾，然后在它们被治好后重新释放。
"Life for swans on the Thames is not easy," says the swan upping guide. Aquatic vegetation can be scarce and it is often difficult for swans to feed on the riverbank. In addition, the birds face threats from fishing tackle, overhead wires, oil pollution, vandalism, dog attacks and shootings.
“天鹅在泰晤士河上的生活并不容易，”《天鹅上浮指南》说。水生植物很稀少，天鹅很难在河岸上觅食。此外，这些鸟类还面临着来自渔具、架空电线、石油污染、故意破坏、狗攻击和枪击的威胁。
Barber tells The Guardian he hopes the annual event will draw attention to threats to these young swans.
巴伯在接受《卫报》采访时表示，他希望这项一年一度的活动能引起人们对这些年轻天鹅所面临威胁的关注。
