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For two weeks, scientists have been tracking the Northern Right Whale and planning the unprecedented rescue mission.
A heavy fishing line is wrapped around the 20-year-old male's jaw and deeply imbedded in its head. It has caused an infection in the whale that continues to spread. Scientists say the infection will kill the whale unless the line is removed.
"It looks terrible," said David Mattila of the Center for Coastal Studies. "It makes you sick in the stomach and the heart to see an animal in that kind of shape."
For the rescue, Mattila and other scientists, who have saved more than fifty whales, created special hand tools to cut the line. But they have never seen something so deeply embedded or tried to remove a line at sea from the notoriously powerful Right whale which can be dangerous when angry.
Since the line is around the head, rescuers would approach the whale in a small inflatable boat at its most perilous spot, easy targets for the tail.
"We're dealing with a huge animal," said Charles Mayo, center for Coastal Studies. "Fifty, say 50 tons, 50 feet in length. It probably doesn't know we're trying to help it."
So, rescuers plan to do something never tried before. They plan to sedate the giant mammal with a tranquilizer.
Veterinarians and others involved in the rescue rushed to New Jersey to examine a young Northern Right Whale found dead off Long Island hoping there would be clues to the sedation in an autopsy.
One question rescuers have is 'how much do you give a 50-ton whale in a dart fired by a crossbow?'
Another question, rescuers have is 'what is the best area to inject the whale?'
The scientists are determined to try anything - even putting themselves in harm's way because there are only 300 Northern Right whales left and every death leads it closer to extinction.
"We're working right on the edge," said Mayo. "But considering the status of the animal and the condition of Right whales, it seems reasonable."
(Agencies)
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兩周以來，科學家們一直在跟蹤一頭北方露脊鯨并計劃展開一項史無前例的拯救行動。
一根笨重的釣絲纏繞住了這頭20歲的雄性鯨的下巴上，并深深嵌進其頭部。鯨魚已經被感染，并且情況正在惡化。科學家們稱如果不把釣絲取出來的話，鯨魚將會因感染而死亡。
來自海岸研究中心的大衛-馬提拉說："太可怕了，看到這頭鯨魚被弄成這樣，真讓人難受。"
馬提拉和其他一些科學家曾經拯救過50多頭鯨魚。為了這次拯救行動，他們制作了專門割斷釣線的手動工具。不過他們從來沒有碰到鯨魚被釣線扎得這么深的情況，也沒有試過在海上將釣線從一向以兇猛著稱的露脊鯨身上取下來，因為一但露脊鯨被惹怒，它們將是會非常危險的動物。
由于釣線纏繞在鯨魚的頭部，拯救人員將乘坐充氣艇靠近鯨魚的頭部。而鯨魚的頭部通常是最危險的部位，因為這里經常是鯨尾襲擊的對象。
同樣來自海岸研究中心的查爾斯-馬友說："我們要對付的是個大家伙，50噸重，50英尺長，它或許根本就不知道我們是來幫它的。"
有鑒于此，拯救人員計劃嘗試一些新方法。他們計劃先用鎮靜劑讓這個大家伙先鎮定下來。
獸醫和其他一些相關拯救人員匆忙匯集新澤西，調查一頭在長島附近海域死去的壯年北方露脊鯨 。他們希望通過解剖鯨魚的尸體找到使鯨魚鎮定的線索。
拯救人員目前仍有疑問，即要用標槍朝這頭50噸重的鯨魚射麻藥的話，標槍頭上應放多少麻藥。另一個問題是，鯨魚哪個部位是注射的最佳部位。
科學家們表示要不惜一切代價進行拯救行動--哪怕是面臨不測也再所不惜，畢竟現存的北方露脊鯨總共只有300頭，死一頭少一頭，北方露脊鯨離滅絕越來越近。
馬友說："我們的工作有些冒險，不過想想這頭鯨的處境和整個露脊鯨物種所面臨的危險境地，這么做是值得的。"
(中國日報網站譯)
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Updated: 2001-06-27 01:00
