奇妙岛屿 17

Fortunately for the Stephens Island tuatara,
斯蒂芬岛屿上的大蜥蜴是幸运的
it did survive a brief mammal invasion.
它成功地在哺乳动物入侵中存活下来
But for some of the other wildlife here,
但是对这儿其它的野生动物而言
the invasion was rather more catastrophic.
这场入侵就更是一场灾难
The island had been uninhabited and largely ignored,
这座岛屿原本无人居住且为世人所遗忘
but that all changed with the construction
但是1894年一座灯塔的建成
of this lighthouse back in 1894.
改变了这一切
when the newly installed keeper,a Mr Lyall,
该灯塔的新任看守者莱尔先生
found an unusual wren on the island,
发现了这座岛屿上有一种特殊的鹪鹩
he sent a specimen to London for identification.
于是他寄了一份标本到伦敦请专家鉴定
Like many island birds,
就如同所有生活在岛上的鸟儿一样
it was flightless.
鹪鹩不会飞行
And perhaps that's why it wasn't Mr Lyall
也许这就是为什么并非是这位莱尔先生
who first discovered the bird,
第一个发现这种鸟儿的
but his four-legged companion.
而是他那用四条腿行走的伙伴
Tibbles proved to be a very efficient specimen collector.
事实证明莱尔先生的伙伴泰伯斯是一高效标本收集者
So much so,
它捕捉的猎物太多了
in fact, that one year later,
以至于一年后
when the bird was officially declared a new species,
当这种鸟儿被官方认定为一种新品种时
Mr Lyall had to regretfully inform the scientific community at large that
莱尔先生只能遗憾地报告科学界
the species was now extinct.
这种鸟儿已经灭绝了
In truth,
事实上
Tibbles wasn't the only feline to blame,
泰伯斯不是第一只因此而被指责的猫
but the ease with which the Stephens Island wren had been dispatched was alarming.
但是斯蒂芬岛鹪鹩的迅速消亡给人们敲响了警钟