《里约大冒险》蓝鹦鹉原型去世

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　　这是一只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉，名叫普雷斯利。周三那天它离世了，约四十岁，被认为是世上最后倒数第二只野生斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉。

　　Presley's death is a blow to conservation efforts in both a symbolic¹ and literal sense. Critically endangered, these native Brazilian birds (Cyanopsitta spixii) are believed to be extinct in the wild. Decades of deforestation and rampant² wildlife trafficking have besieged³ the medium-size macaws, who also ended up having to compete for nest space with introduced Africanized honeybees.

　　无论是象征意义上或是实际上，普雷斯利的死都是对保育界的努力的一大打击。这些本土的巴西雀(斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉)属于濒危物种，估计已经在野外灭绝。多年来的森林砍伐和猖獗的野生动物走私已经逼使这种中型金刚鹦鹉走投无路，更要与新引进的非洲化蜜蜂(杀人蜂)争夺筑巢之所。

　　Now, the fewer than 100 remaining Spix's macaws are cloistered⁴ in captive breeding programs and refuges throughout the world—and the small population is vulnerable to genetic⁵ defects caused by inbreeding. Presley offered the opportunity to inject some much-needed genetic diversity into the population.

　　目前，只有少于100只斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉存活，它们被隔离在养殖计划里接受监控，在全球各国之间寻求避难所。其中，有少数的鹦鹉更因为近亲繁殖而容易产生基因缺陷。普雷斯利是这群斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的希望，可以给予它们很迫切需要的不同基因。

　　But he left no offspring.

　　但他并没有留下任何后代。

　　There are reports that Presley himself influenced the 2011 movie Rio, an animated⁶ film that tells the tale of a lone⁷ male Spix's macaw. Found living in the United States, the bird, named Blu, is initially⁸ unable to fly. But he returns to Brazil and finds the only other known surviving member of his species, a female named Jewel. Together, the two movie macaws battle wildlife traffickers and eventually start a small family.

　　有报告指出，普雷斯利影响了2011年的动画影片《里约大冒险》。那是有关一只雄性的斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的故事。布鲁生活在美国，本来不会飞。但它回到了巴西后找到了唯一一只已知存活的雌性同类——珠儿。这两隻鹦鹉携手协力，与野生动物贩卖者抗争，最后组建了自己的小家庭。

　　Director Carlos Saldanha has said he hoped the movie would raise awareness⁹ of the challenges facing endangered birds in Brazil. "I wanted [to feature] the rarest bird," he told the website Bird Channel in 2011. "The Spix's macaw truly is the rarest."

　　卡洛斯·沙尔丹哈导演说希望这部电影可以提高大众对巴西濒危鸟类的关注，了解它们所面对的挑战。2011年时他告诉网站鸟类频道（Bird Channel），“我想拍摄有关最稀有的鸟类的故事，斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的确就是最稀有的。”

　　Released this year, an optimistic sequel, Rio 2, follows Blu and Jewel as they encounter a hidden population of Spix's macaws in the Brazilian Amazon.

　　续集《里约大冒险2》 将于今年上映，故事讲述布鲁和珠儿在巴西亚马逊，遇上一群此前未知存在的斯皮克斯金刚鹦鹉的故事。

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