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Is an animal or bird extinct if no one has seen it in almost 80 years?
如果一种动物或鸟类在近80年里都没有人见过，那它就灭绝了吗？
Or is it just good at hiding from those looking for it?
或者它只是善于躲避那些寻找它的人？
That is a question the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to answer about a large bird called the ivory-billed woodpecker.
这是美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局试图回答的一个有关一种名为象牙喙啄木鸟的大型鸟类的问题。
No one has seen it since 1944.
自1944年以来，没有人见过它。
The woodpecker has been on the critically endangered list for a number of years.
这种啄木鸟已经被列入极度濒危物种名单很多年了。
Right now, however, the Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to decide if it is no longer living.
然而，目前，美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局正在试图确定它是否已经灭绝。
If it is considered extinct, it would no longer be protected by the U.S. government.
如果认定它已经灭绝，它将不再受到美国政府的保护。
The bird is one of the largest woodpeckers.
这种鸟是最大的啄木鸟之一。
It once lived in the old forests in the southern U.S.
它曾经生活在美国南部的古老森林中。
However, the wood cutting industry destroyed the bird’s habitat, or living place.
然而，伐木业破坏了这种鸟的栖息地。
Some birdwatchers believe the birds still live deep in the remaining forests and swamps in the American south.
一些观鸟者认为，这种鸟仍然生活在美国南部剩余的森林和沼泽深处。
Those places are hard to reach.
人们很难到达这些地方。
And no one has seen the ivory-billed woodpecker in nearly 80 years.
近80年来，没有人见过象牙喙啄木鸟。
Christian Cooper is an experienced birdwatcher.
克里斯蒂安·库珀是一位经验丰富的观鸟者。
He called the woodpecker “something of a holy grail of North American birding.”
他称这种啄木鸟为“北美观鸟的圣杯”。
“Even though it’s almost 95 percent certain that it’s gone, there’s that slender chance that there’s still a population, small population, hanging on to be found in some remote swampy forest in the south.”
“尽管它已经消失的可能性几乎达到了95%，但仍然有很小的可能性，在南部的某个偏远的沼泽森林中仍有少量种群还没有被人类发现。”
The bird was placed on a list of 23 species that may be extinct last September.
去年9月，这种鸟被列入了23种可能灭绝的物种名单。
But after many birdwatchers complained, the agency decided to delay its decision about the woodpecker from this September until March 2023.
但在许多观鸟者投诉后，该机构决定将有关这种啄木鸟的决定从今年9月推迟到2023年3月。
But birdwatchers only have until August 7 to provide photographic evidence that the woodpeckers still live.
但观鸟者只能在8月7日之前提供这种啄木鸟还活着的照片证据。
Cooper noted that a research group led by the National Aviary in Pittsburgh recently said it found evidence of the bird in Louisiana, using unmanned cameras and listening for its special call.
库珀指出，匹兹堡国家鸟类公园领导的一个研究小组最近表示，他们通过使用无人机摄像头和仔细听这种鸟的特殊叫声，在路易斯安那州发现了这种鸟还活着的证据。
The group would not say the area of the study because it hopes to keep the birds safe.
该组织不愿透露研究区域，因为它希望保护这种鸟的安全。
The study has not been fully examined by other bird experts.
这项研究还没有得到其他鸟类专家的充分检验。
Ian Fischer is a spokesperson for U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
伊恩·费舍尔是美国鱼类及野生动植物管理局的发言人。
He said there is a lot of “passion…for this bird … but there has been no clear evidence that it lives, unfortunately.”
他说，人们对这种鸟有很多“热情，但不幸的是，没有明确的证据表明它还活着。”
The species on the proposed extinction list include: a fruit bat, 11 birds including the woodpecker, eight freshwater mussels, and two kinds of fish.
被列入灭绝物种名单的物种包括：果蝠，包括这种啄木鸟在内的11种鸟类，8种淡水贻贝和2种鱼类。
Cooper expressed a bit of hope that the mysterious bird may not be extinct.
库珀还心怀希望，他认为这种神秘的鸟可能还没有灭绝。
“So, is the bird gone? Is the bird still around?
“那么，这种鸟消失了吗？这种鸟还存在吗？
No one can say for certain, but there’s always hope.”
没有人能肯定，但总有希望。”
I’m Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
