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| The world's first elephant
treadmill reaches speeds of up to eight
miles-per-hour. | |
Anchorage zookeepers are installing a 16,000-pound (7.3-ton) treadmill
to keep an isolated elephant from getting fat during the long, cold
Alaskan winters.
The 20-foot(6-meter)-long treadmill was designed specifically for
Maggie, a 23-year-old female African elephant that has become the subject
of a national debate over the proper care for captive pachyderms .
"It looks just like a big people treadmill," said Patrick Lampi,
assistant director of the Alaska Zoo.
Because this is the first treadmill ever built for an elephant, zoo
officials and an Idaho company studied mining equipment and treadmills
used for race horses, Lampi said.
Zookeepers said Zimbabwe-born Maggie would start using the treadmill in
about two months.
The zoo is remodeling her indoor and outdoor spaces, making both about
twice as large as before and adding a sandy area. In addition, the floor
has been heated and the zoo is evaluating ways to make it softer, Lampi
said.
Critics from Anchorage and around the nation have urged the zoo to send
Maggie to an elephant sanctuary in a warmer climate and away from
the near-Arctic zoo.
Elephants, particularly females, are herd creatures and need company,
critics have said. But Maggie's companion, an Asian elephant named
Annabelle, died in 1997.
Maggie's weight-loss program started more than a year ago, Lampi said,
"She was slightly heavy for an elephant."
With diet modifications and new exercise inducements, such as hiding
food in baskets and other sites that require some work to reach, Maggie
has slimmed down a bit and is now believed to weigh a little over 8,000
pounds (3.6 tonnes).
"We estimate that she lost maybe 1,000 pounds (454 kg)," Lampi
said.
(Agencies) |
美國阿拉斯加州南部港口城市安克雷奇動物園的工作人員們正在安裝一臺重1.6萬磅（7.3噸）的巨型跑步機，用來幫助一頭孤獨的大象在阿拉斯加漫長而寒冷的冬季保持“身材”。
這臺長20英尺（6米）的跑步機是專門為動物園中一頭名叫麥吉的23歲雌性非洲象設計的。最近，全美都在討論如何正確對待豢養在動物園里的大象，而被討論的主角正是麥吉。
“這臺大象跑步機看上去就是普通跑步機的超大版。”阿拉斯加動物園副園長帕特里克·蘭皮說。
這是迄今為止為大象建造的第一臺跑步機，所以在設計的過程中，動物園的管理人員和美國愛達荷州的一家公司一起仔細研究了采礦設備和賽馬使用的跑步機的構造，蘭皮說。
動物園的管理者們說這頭出生在津巴布韋的大象麥吉將在大約兩個月之后開始使用這臺巨型跑步機。
動物園為此特地對麥吉的生活空間進行了改造，把室內和室外空間都擴大了一倍，還增加了一塊沙地。另外，動物園還對地板進行了加熱，并想辦法讓地板變得更軟一些，蘭皮說。
安克雷奇市和美國全國各地的批評家們強烈要求動物園把麥吉送到氣候更溫暖的動物保護區去，不要在這個靠近北極的動物園過冬。
有批評說，大象，特別是母象，是群居類動物，它們需要和同伴們在一起，但是麥吉的伴侶，一頭名叫Annabella的亞洲象已經在1997年去世了。
一年多前，麥吉開始了減肥。蘭皮說：“作為一頭大象，它稍微有點超重。”
動物園修改了馬吉的食譜，并用新方法促進它多多運動。比如，把食物藏在需要麥吉費點勁才能夠著的籃子里或其他地方。麥吉已經瘦了一點，它現在大約有8000磅（3.6噸）多一點。
“我們估計它的體重可能減了1000磅（454公斤），”蘭皮說。
（中國日報網站 薛曉文譯） |
Updated: 2005-09-19 09:31
