斑鳖

库克林和国际野生生物保护学会（WildlifeConservationSociety）中国分会的龟鳖专家吕顺清渴望再找到一只雌性斑鳖，于是让全国所有动物园都把各自的大型软壳龟鳖的照片寄给他们。

Desperate to find another , Dr. Kuchling and Lu Shunqing , a turtle specialist from the Wildlife Conservation Society 's China branch , had asked every zoo in the country to send them photographs of any large softshell turtles in their possession .

科学家决定继续对雌性斑鳖进行人工授精。

The scientists decided to proceed with artificial insemination of the female .

那的确是一只斑鳖，而且关键还是一只雌性斑鳖。

It was indeed a Yangtze giant softshell turtle and , crucially , a female .

然而保育人士并不确定很快能发现另外一只雄性斑鳖。

Conservationists , however , are not betting that another male will be captured anytime soon .

结果那只斑鳖也是雄性，两只雄性斑鳖展开争斗。

The second turtle turned out to be male , as well , and the two fought .

但迄今为止，这一对斑鳖一直未能让科学家们遂愿。雌斑鳖产下了一窝又一窝未受精的卵。

So far the pair have disappointed scientists , with the female laying clutch after clutch of unfertilized eggs .

据研究人员所知，目前世界上仅剩四只斑鳖，其中仅有一只雌性斑鳖，也就是苏州动物园中85岁的这一只。

There are only four known specimens remaining , and only one female & an 85-year-old resident of the Suzhou Zoo .

这只雌性斑鳖2007年才被发现。它被发现的三年前，之前那只被认为全世界独一的雌性斑鳖，已在北京动物园死亡。

She was discovered only in 2007 , three years after the sole other known female died at the Beijing Zoo .

库克林利用光纤内窥镜对已经麻醉的雌性斑鳖的泄殖腔进行了检查，确定了通往其输卵管的区域所在的位置。

Dr. Kuchling examined the sedated female 's cloaca with a fiber-optic endoscope to locate the compartment leading to her oviducts .

令他们高兴的是，这两只斑鳖似乎的确交配了。那年夏天，雌斑鳖产下了大约180枚蛋。

To their delight , the animals did appear to mate , and that summer , the female laid around 180 eggs .

20年前为了促使斑鳖交配，另一只斑鳖被放入了这只雄性斑鳖所在的池塘。

Two decades earlier , another Yangtze giant softshell turtle had been added to the male 's pond in an attempt to mate the animals .

被认为是全世界最大淡水龟的斑鳖，一度在长江和红河颇为常见。

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle thought to be the largest freshwater turtle in the world was once common in the Yangtze and Red Rivers .

当雌性斑鳖产出第一批蛋的时候&可能要到6月底，科学家才能知道这第一次的努力是否有效。

When the female lays her first clutch of eggs , probably by late June , the scientists will know if this first effort was fruitful .

据信，其他两只雄性斑鳖在越南&其中一只在河内市中心的剑湖。

Two other male Yangtze giant softshell turtles are believed to be in Vietnam & one in Hoan Kiem Lake , in the center of Hanoi .

据信，其他两只雄性斑鳖在越南——其中一只在河内市中心的剑湖。

Two other male Yangtze giant softshell turtles are believed to be in Vietnam - one in Hoan Kiem Lake , in the center of Hanoi .

第二只雄性斑鳖死亡，胜者的壳严重受损，现在看来，它的生殖器官当时似乎也受到了损害。

The second male was killed , and the victor suffered serious damage to his shell and , it now appears , to his reproductive organ .

但库克林表示，“非越南人恐怕无法接触到”那些斑鳖，因此不太可能开展合作，实施繁殖计划。

But those animals " are pretty much off limits for any non-Vietnamese , " Dr. Kuchling said , and so a collaborative breeding program seems unlikely .

该小组还通过电刺激提取了这只雄性斑鳖的精子，并对精子进行了检测。最终他们发现了好消息，虽然活性较低，但这些精子具有繁衍能力。

The team also examined the male 's sperm - extracted using electrical stimuli - and finally discovered good news . While motility was low , the sperm were viable .

库克林和吕顺清安排将它转移到了苏州动物园，希望它能和那里的一只雄性斑鳖开始繁殖出更多同类。

Dr. Kuchling and Dr. Lu arranged for her transport to the Suzhou Zoo , where they hoped she and the zoo 's male specimen would begin producing more of their kind .

他们了解到，那只斑鳖曾经参加过巡回动物展览，在中国革命于1949年结束后不久，它就永久性地留在了该动物园。

She had once been part of a traveling animal exhibition , they learned , and became a permanent resident of the zoo shortly after the end of the Chinese Revolution in 1949 .