They're creatures of the sea that always look happy.But for these Beluga whales their lives are far from it.
Every year in Nilmoguba, a small village on the north of Russia, near the Polar Circle, hundreds are rounded up to begin a sad journey into captivity from which only half survive.
牠們看似北極汪洋中最快樂的生物，但在俄羅斯北部尼爾默古巴村的白鯨，牠們的生活並非如此快活。每年數百隻野生白鯨被人類圍捕，因人類的貪婪而失去自由，經過訓練後會被送往俄羅斯各地的水族館展出，其中有半數會因適應不良而喪命，令人心酸。
- Beluga (n.)【動】白鯨
- Be far from 完全不 = Not at all
It is far from perfect.
離完美還有一大段距離。
- Round up 圍捕
The police finally rounded up the criminal.
警察最後將罪犯圍捕。
- Captivity (n.) 囚禁；被俘
These birds are raised in captivity.
這些鳥兒被關在籠中飼養。
A team of specialists are issued with licenses to catch the Beulgas there and then train them for a life entertaining humans.
It takes around six months and - if they live - they will then be transferred to a circus or aquapark somewhere else in Russia where they are expected to perform.
The whale pictured here, named Petrovich, was caught in the autumn and since then has become accustomed to people and feeding in captivity. Soon he will have new home in Moscow.
Petrovich is 12 years old and surprised his trainers by adapting very easily. But, as each whale has its own character, not all do.
Of the hundreds captured every year about one in two refuse to eat food brought given to them. If they do not adapt, because of stressful experience or because of lack of food, they die very quickly.
每年都有一批專家持著當局的許可，獲准捕捉白鯨。通過為期半年的訓練，牠們便會被賣到全國各地的水上樂園或馬戲團，供人觀賞娛樂。
照片中的白鯨便是其中之一，12歲的Petrovich在去年的秋天被捕，至今已逐漸適應人工飼養的生活，再過不久就要被送到新家莫斯科，展開演藝生涯。不過其他同伴可沒像Petrovich那麼幸運，高達半數會因難以適應新環境，感到巨大壓力或絕食而死。
- Specialist (n.) 專家 = expert, authority
- Aquapark (n.) 水上樂園
- Accustom (v.) 使習慣
Become accustomed to 對…變得習以為常 = Get used to
He has become accustomed to the weather here.
他已習慣了這裡的天氣。
The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale that is white as an adult. The Beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, thick layers of blubber, and a rounded melon. They have one blowhole. Beluga means 'white one' in Russian.
It is estimated that there are about 40,000 to 80,000 of them world-wide. The whales are often also known as 'sea canaries' because of their songs and chatter, which can even be heard above the water.
In the wild these beautiful animals have few natural enemies. Only rare meetings with a killer whale or a polar bear puts them in danger. But in captivity, it is different.
白鯨身材圓潤、肚子飽滿，有著厚重的脂肪，頭部鈍，喙狀嘴，還有一個噴水呼吸孔。牠們因白色表皮而得名。（Beluga在俄文中即為「白色」的意思）
全世界約有4萬到8萬隻白鯨，由於牠們能發出多變的聲音，宛如歌聲，素有「海中金絲雀」之稱，連在水面上都能聽到牠們的叫聲。
野生白鯨幾乎是沒有天敵的，只有殺人鯨和北極熊有時會對牠們造成威脅。這些本該在海洋中快樂悠游的動物，現在卻面臨著截然不同的命運，由於人類的自私，白鯨悲歌不斷在俄羅斯各處重複上演著。
- Stout (adj.) 肥胖的
- Blunt (adj.) 鈍的，不鋒利的
This knife is blunt.
這把刀不利。
- Beak (n.) 喙狀嘴
- Layer (n.) 層
- Blubber (n.) 鯨脂；鯨油
- Melon (n.) 大肚子
- Blowhole (n.) 呼吸孔
- Canary (n.) 金絲雀
Read more: http://dailym.ai/1dPVRGS
