Feeding Mandarin Ducks Is Not an Act of Kindness喂鸳鸯不是善举

A flock2 of wild Mandarin ducks are the big draw in the WestLake scenic area in Hangzhou， with tourists flocking from around thecountry to see them.

杭州西湖风景区的一群野生鸳鸯颇具吸引力，全国各地的游客纷纷前来一睹它们的风采。

However， some of the tourists have been feeding the ducks， even pulling themby the neck to force3 them. A video claiming4 that some of the ducks had diedfrom over-feeding went viral5 on social networking sites.

然而，一些游客却给鸳鸯喂食，甚至拽着鸳鸯的脖子强行喂食。一段声称部分鸳鸯因遭过量投喂而死亡的视频在社交网站上疯传。

Although there are prominent6 signboards warning people against feedingthese Mandarin ducks， tourists just cannot hold back. Some even believe the ducksare short of food and they are doing them a favor， little realizing that their actioncan be harmful to the birds’health. Human food does not always go down wellwith ducks， particularly potato chips， as the oily snack can be harmful to thehealth of Mandarin ducks.

尽管有醒目的告示牌警告人们不要给它那些鸳鸯喂食，但游客们还是按捺不住。有些人甚至认为鸳鸯的饲料不足，他们是在帮忙，几乎没有意识到他们的行为可能会损害鸟类的健康。人类的食物并不总是适合鸳鸯，尤其是薯片，因为油腻的零食会严重损害鸳鸯的健康。

However， tourists can often be seen feeding the ducks food that the birdscannot digest7.

然而，经常可以看到游客给鸳鸯喂食鸟类无法消化的食物。

Besides， feeding the ducks could stop them from competing in the wild tofind their food. If they become dependent on food provided by humans， they willlose their survival8 skills.

此外，给鸳鸯喂食可能阻止它们在野外竞争觅食。如果它们变得依赖于人类提供的食物，它们就会失去生存技能。

Also， by giving food to them， the tourists are polluting the environment.Especially， food thrown into the water could harm the ecosystem there.

而且，游客给他们提供食物是在污染环境。特别是扔进水中的食物可能会损害那里的生态系统。

However， the tourists know little about the harm they cause to the environmentand there is a need to create awareness about it. Meanwhile， the number of Mandarinducks at West Lake has dropped from 336 last year to 260 this year. Maybe thedeclining9 numbers will wake the tourists up to this reality.

然而，游客对他们给环境造成的危害知之甚少，因此有必要提高他们的环保意识。与此同时，西湖鸳鸯的数量也从去年的336 只下降到今年的260 只。也许鸳鸯数量的下降会让游客们意识到这一现实。

（英语原文选自：chinadaily.com）

Discussion 议一议：

1. Have you ever fed the animalsin the wild？你投喂过野外的动物吗？

2. What do you think of the act of feeding animals in the wild？ 你怎样看待投喂野生动物这种行为？