The Spirit Bear

One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few.

每十只黑熊中约有一只天生白色皮毛，这是特殊基因造成的。

Local people have named it the spirit bear.

当地人称它为精灵熊。

And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power.

根据当地传说，它雪白的皮毛拥有特殊力量。

Because of this, it has always been highly regarded by them -so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else.

因此人们十分尊敬它，甚至不会向外人透露曾见过它。

It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.

这是陌生人到访时当地人保护它的方式。

The white bear's habitat is quite interesting.

白熊的栖息地很有意思。

The bear's strong relationship with the old- growth rainforest is a complex one.

它与原始雨林之间有着复杂而紧密的关系。

The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways.

白熊在许多方面依赖森林中树龄数百年的大树。

For example, the old-growth trees have extremely Iong roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams.

古树的长根能防止鱼类溪流两岸的土壤侵蚀。

Keeping these banks intact is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear's main food source.

保持河岸完整很重要，因为溪流中的鲑鱼是熊的主要食物。

In return, the bear's feeding habits nurture the forest.

反过来，熊的进食习惯也滋养着森林。

As the bears eat the salmon, they discard the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients.

熊吃鲑鱼时留下大量鱼皮和骨头，为森林提供重要养分。

These produce lush vegetation that sustains thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.

这些养分形成茂盛植被，维持从鸟类到昆虫等众多生命。

Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands.

如今，精灵熊生活在不列颠哥伦比亚省近海的几个岛屿上。

There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain.

据估计白熊不足两百只，因此人们非常担忧其生存。

The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the delicate balance of their forest environment - in other words, their ecosystem.

最好的保护方式是维持森林环境的脆弱平衡，也就是生态系统。

The greatest threat to the bear's existence is the loss of its habitat.

白熊生存面临的最大威胁是栖息地丧失。

Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees.

多年来，伐木公司砍伐大量树木，严重破坏了土地。

In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost.

道路割裂了熊的觅食区域，许多冬眠地点也已经消失。

The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish.

溪流沿岸的伐木破坏了熊捕鱼的地点。

To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment.

由于目前捕鱼没有法律限制，溪流中的鲑鱼数量正在下降。

All these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear's very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low.

这些因素威胁精灵熊生存，而它们一直很低的繁殖率使情况更脆弱。

And so, what's the situation going forward?

那么，未来的情况会怎样？

Community organizations, environmental groups and the British Columbia government are now working together on the problem.

社区组织、环保团体和不列颠哥伦比亚政府正共同处理该问题。

The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method, which is a positive step.

政府要求伐木公司采用更好的伐木方法，这是积极的一步。

However, these measures alone may not be sufficient to ensure a healthy population of the spirit bear in the future.

仅靠这些措施可能不足以保证精灵熊未来拥有健康的种群数量。

Other steps also need to be taken. While it is important to maintain the spirit bear's habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion.

除了维持精灵熊栖息地，还需要更加重视扩大栖息地。