看一条拉布拉多犬如何拯救了一座岛屿！ Labrado

除了作为宠物陪伴人类，狗狗在其他方面也都扮演着重要的角色。导盲犬、搜救犬、缉毒犬等身份都证明了它们无可替代的价值。下面和小译一起看看一条拉布拉多犬是如何拯救了一座岛屿吧~

If Old Yeller were transported to modern times, he might find a job saving wildlife. And his name might be Finn.

假使Old Yeller（老黄狗，出自弗雷德·吉普森的小说《老黄狗》）穿越到现代，它也许会找到一份拯救野生动物的工作，而它的化身或许就是这只叫芬恩的狗狗。

Two conservation groups — Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) and Island Conservation — successfully removed the population of invasive European rabbits that was destroying native vegetation and fragile nesting habitat for the Humboldt penguin and Peruvian diving-petrel on two islands of the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve.

智利国家林业公司和岛屿保护这两个环保组织成功清除了入侵物种欧洲兔，这些兔子当时在破坏洪堡企鹅国家保护区两座岛屿上的原生植被，以及洪堡企鹅和秘鲁鹈燕脆弱的筑巢栖息地。

But they couldn't have completed the task without the help of a four-legged, keen-nosed friend, Finn — a yellow Labrador trained to sniff out burrows of the invasive rabbits.

然而如果没有这位四条腿、嗅觉灵敏的朋友芬恩（一条黄色拉布拉多犬）的帮助，他们是无法完成这一任务的。芬恩经过训练，可以嗅出入侵兔子的洞穴。
If Old Yeller were transported to modern times, he might find a job saving wildlife. And his name might be Finn.

假使Old Yeller（老黄狗，出自弗雷德·吉普森的小说《老黄狗》）穿越到现代，它也许会找到一份拯救野生动物的工作，而它的化身或许就是这只叫芬恩的狗狗。

Two conservation groups — Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) and Island Conservation — successfully removed the population of invasive European rabbits that was destroying native vegetation and fragile nesting habitat for the Humboldt penguin and Peruvian diving-petrel on two islands of the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve.

智利国家林业公司和岛屿保护这两个环保组织成功清除了入侵物种欧洲兔，这些兔子当时在破坏洪堡企鹅国家保护区两座岛屿上的原生植被，以及洪堡企鹅和秘鲁鹈燕脆弱的筑巢栖息地。

But they couldn't have completed the task without the help of a four-legged, keen-nosed friend, Finn — a yellow Labrador trained to sniff out burrows of the invasive rabbits.

然而如果没有这位四条腿、嗅觉灵敏的朋友芬恩（一条黄色拉布拉多犬）的帮助，他们是无法完成这一任务的。芬恩经过训练，可以嗅出入侵兔子的洞穴。

Dogs have become rising stars in the effort to detect invasive species, protect wildlife and assist scientists in their field work. Their amazing ability to sniff out specific scents has become an in-demand tool for researchers alike. In fact, dogs aren't just BFFs to humans, but to endangered species and habitats as well.

在探测入侵物种、保护野生动物和协助科学家从事野外工作方面，狗狗正在发挥着越来越重要的作用。它们灵敏的嗅觉可以闻出特定的气味，因而已经成为研究人员得力的帮手。其实，狗狗不只是人类最好的朋友，它们在保护濒危物种和栖息地方面也发挥着积极的作用。

Finn is one such example of how dogs can make a big difference for conservation by speeding up searches or finding targets that would otherwise be impossible for humans to find.

芬恩就是一个很好的例子，它能提高搜索速度或者寻找到人类难以发现的目标。

In this case, Finn played a critical role in restoring the habitat of penguins and petrels, sniffing out the island to ensure it was entirely free of rabbits.

因此，芬恩在恢复企鹅和鹈燕栖息地方面发挥了至关重要的作用，它通过嗅觉搜索以确保岛屿上的兔子全部清除。

The Humboldt penguin is considered vulnerable to extinction under IUCN's Red List, and the Peruvian diving petrel is considered endangered.

世界自然保护联盟已将洪堡企鹅列入濒危物种红色名录，而秘鲁鹈燕已经濒临灭绝。

"The islands of Choros, Damas and Chañaral, which make up the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, bathe in the productive, nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current System. They are home to 80 percent of the world's Vulnerable Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) population and were once home to 100,000 pairs of endangered Peruvian diving-petrel (Pelecanoides garnotii)," states Island Conservation.

“Choros岛、Damas岛和Chañaral岛共同构成了洪堡企鹅国家保护区，它们所处的洪堡水系流域多产且营养丰富。这里目前居住着世界上80%的易危物种洪堡企鹅，也曾居住着十万对濒危秘鲁鹈燕，” 岛屿保护组织称。

The rabbits ate the cacti plants, which provided shade for penguin chicks, and they also took over the burrows petrels use to nest, posing significant threat to the bird species.

兔子吃掉了为企鹅宝宝提供荫凉的仙人掌，还占据了鹈燕用来筑巢的洞穴，给这种鸟类带了来巨大威胁。

Thanks to Finn and the dedicated team of people behind the conservation effort, the removal of rabbits from these two islands "marks the first protected area of its kind within the Chilean Protected Areas Network to be declared free of invasive vertebrate pest species, an achievement that benefits native wildlife and the eco-tourism industry centered around them," according to Island Conservation.

多亏了芬恩和动物保护专门小组的不懈努力，两座岛屿上的入侵兔子得以清除，“这项成就标志着这里成为了智利保护区网络内第一个将再无脊椎类有害物种侵入的保护区，同时也意味着造福了本地野生动物和其所处的生态旅游业，” 岛屿保护组织称。

Since completing the removal, plants have bounced back. Scientists have recorded 16 plants never before identified on the island! Meanwhile, the penguins and petrels have their habitat back.

由于入侵物种已经清除，岛屿上的植物又开始生长。科学家记录到了16种此前在该岛从未发现的植物！同时，企鹅和鹈燕也找回了自己的栖息地。

Island Conservation calls Finn a "Wonder Dog", and no wonder.

难怪岛屿保护组织将芬恩称为“非凡的狗”。

"The smelling ability of dogs is an invaluable conservation tool," states Karen Andrew, who worked alongside Finn. "They are able to determine the presence of a rabbit with one sniff, often from long distances. Without them, we would be on our hands and knees in the tussock relying on our eyes to spot fresh rabbit scrapings or scats. Finn is trained to indicate the presence of a rabbit by scratching at the ground and is then rewarded with his favourite toy, a fun game, and lots of pats."

“狗的嗅觉是动物保护工作中非常宝贵的一种工具，”与芬恩共事的凯伦·安德鲁说道。“它们只要一闻就能确定兔子的方位，就算距离很远也能闻到。要是没有它们，我们只能跪在草丛里徒手寻找，依靠人眼寻觅兔子的踪迹。芬恩受过训练，它会用抓挠地面的方式表明自己找到了兔子，而作为奖励，我们会给它最喜欢的玩具，真是太有趣了。”