日本人口锐减老龄化严重 引发野猪成群霸占城镇

WILD BOARS ARE TAKING OVER JAPAN AS POPULATION AGES, DISAPPEARS
日本人口锐减老龄化严重 引发野猪成群霸占城镇

As people slowly leave some Japanese towns and cities, wild boars are coming in to replace them.
据美国《新闻周刊》网站3月9日的消息：在人们逐渐搬离日本一些村镇和城市后，大批野猪便大肆涌入。

As the country’s aging population gradually dies, wild boars are filling the void, lured by rice paddies without human supervision and the hospitable landscape—where they find plenty of shelter and not enough people to deter them from coming. What used to be a problem just in southern Japan, with boar sightings and occasional attacks on humans, has blossomed into an issue for the entire country, according to a report in The Washington Post.
随着日本老龄化人口的逐渐消亡和在无人监管稻田以及舒适环境的吸引下，野猪正在城镇四处流窜。它们在这里可以找到多处藏身之所，也没有足够的人手能阻止它们的到来。据《华盛顿邮报》的一则报道，在过去，只有日本南方才会出现野猪和野猪偶尔袭击人类的问题。现如今，这已演变为一个日本全国性问题。

Japan’s population has grown older in recent years: Estimates from the United Nations Population Division indicate that about 35 percent of the country was least 65 years old in 2017. And the agency projects that the problem will only get worse, and seniors will make up roughly half the country by 2050.
近年来，日本已进入人口老龄化阶段。据联合国人口司的估算显示，2017年，日本约35％的人口年龄在65岁以上。该机构预计，日本人口老龄化问题只将会进一步恶化，到2050年老年人口将占到日本总人口的一半左右。

This goes against the worldwide pattern, in which people younger than 65 make up the large majority of the population, both now and in projected numbers for 2050.
在全球范围内，无论是现在还是预计的2050年的人口数量，65岁以下的人群会占据一个国家人口的绝大多数，而日本显然背道而驰。

Japan has a wild boar problem, as depopulation from natural disasters and aging leaves room for the wild animals. Above, three boars were killed in an evacuated residential area near the Fukushima nuclear plant.
自然灾害造成的人口减少和日本人口的老龄化为野生动物提供下了生存空间。日本也便有了野猪肆虐城镇的问题。

Wild boars, also known as Eurasian wild pigs, have moved in to supplant the shrinking population. In the Iwate Prefecture, authorities caught 94 boars last year, The Washington Post reported. That’s up from just two caught in 2011.
野猪--又称欧亚野猪--已涌进城镇来取代日益减少的人口。据《华盛顿邮报》报道，在日本岩手县，当局在2017年共抓捕了94头野猪，而2011年仅有2头野猪被抓，这一数据已在大幅提升。

On top of aging, Japan’s northern stretches have also faced depopulation linked to the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown and the tsunami that destroyed coastal areas—both events related to a devastating earthquake in 2011, as The Washington Post points out.
《华盛顿邮报》报道称，除了人口老龄化的因素之外，日本北部地区人口的减少也同福岛核电站的堆芯熔毁和沿海地区遭海啸的摧毁息息相关，而这两起事件也同2011年的一场毁灭性地震存有连带关系。

All of this, plus warmer temperatures and less snow, make the conditions right for wild boars.
所有这些因素，再加上日渐暖和的天气和更少的雪，野猪的生存条件变得很好起来。

“Because of depopulation, there are more and more abandoned fields and rice paddies,” a Tokyo University wildlife management professor, Koichi Kaji, told the publication. “They’re perfect places for wild boars to hide and feed.”
东京大学野生动物管理学教授Koichi Kaji向该报表示：“由于人口减少，越来越多的土地和稻田被遗弃，这便成了野猪藏身和觅食的绝佳场所。

The authorities want farmers to get licenses for guns and traps to help reduce the animal population, but many are too old to help in that defense.
为降低野猪的数量，当局呼吁农民申请枪支和捕捉器的许可证，但许多人年纪太大，根本无法参与防御行动。

Super Monster Wolf
超级怪兽狼

Some people are getting creative, including designing a robotic but realistic-looking wolf known as the Super Monster Wolf that is meant to scare off the boars.
有人很有创意，设计出一款名叫“超级怪兽狼”的仿真狼机器人，用来吓跑野猪。（译：陈娟）

http://www.newsweek.com/wild-boars-japan-population-ages-disappears-839048