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Seven Puget Sound killer whales are missing and presumed dead in what could be the biggest decline among the sound's orcas in nearly a decade, say scientists who carefully track the endangered animals.
七头逆戟鲸在普吉特海湾失踪。据推测，它们已经死亡。跟踪调查则这一濒危物种的科学家说，这是该海域近10年来发生的最大规模的逆戟鲸死亡事件。
"This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, said.
“这是一场灾难”，圣胡安岛鲸鱼研究中心的资深科学家肯-巴尔科姆这样说道。
While the official census won't be completed until December, the total number of live "southern resident" orcas now stands at 83.
官方对逆戟鲸数量的普查要到12月 才能完成。这些 “南部居民”的总数如今大约是83头。
Among those missing since last year's count are the nearly century-old leader of one of the three southern resident pods, and two young females who recently bore calves. The loss of the seven whales would be the biggest decline among the Puget Sound orcas since 1999, when the center also tracked a decline of seven whales.
自去年以来，失踪者中包括三大“南部居民”群体之一中的一个首领，它已经将近100岁了；还有两头是最近才产下幼崽的年轻雌鲸。这七头逆戟鲸的失踪是普吉特海湾自1999年以来发生的最大规模的逆戟鲸死亡事件，当时的1999年圣胡安岛鲸鱼研究中心还跟踪到另外七头逆戟鲸失踪。
Low numbers of chinook salmon, a prime food for these whales, may be a factor in the unusual number of deaths this year, Balcomb said.
作为逆戟鲸主要食物来源的鲑鱼数量的下降可能是今年逆戟鲸不正常死亡的一个因素，巴尔科姆说。
注：本文译文属可可英语原创，未经允许，请勿转载。
