As the U.S. Navy

bombs Guam with dead, poisoned mice

in the latest attempt to eradicate invasive brown tree snakes (above), it's worth taking a moment to sit back and appreciate -- yes, appreciate -- invasive species. Now, before the environmentalists among you get upset, I'm not suggesting that species invasions are good things. They're not. They throw ecosystems out of whack, crowd out plants and animals we already know and love, and generally cause trouble.

當美國海軍準備在關(guān)島上空投放有毒的死老鼠，希望借此來(lái)根除島上那些外來(lái)的棕樹(shù)蛇時(shí)，其實(shí)我們應該靜下心來(lái)，抽出一點(diǎn)時(shí)間來(lái)對他們表示感謝--對，感謝這些“外來(lái)的物種”。等等，在你們之中的環(huán)保主義者發(fā)難之前，請讓我澄清一下--我并不是說(shuō)這些“外鄉客”的“侵略”是對的。它們的確做的不對，它們嚴重擾亂正常的生態(tài)秩序，排擠那些我們已經(jīng)熟知并喜愛(ài)的動(dòng)植物們?？傊?，基本上它們老是給我們惹麻煩。

But invasive species are living creatures, too. That's easy to forget amidst conservationist concerns, which can seem almost schizophrenic in treasuring some creatures (don't touch that tortoise!), while actively encouraging the extermination of others. So for a few minutes, let's put aside our usual feelings about invasive species, and just talk about some really cool animals.

但是這些“侵略性”的物種也是有生命的。而這一點(diǎn)經(jīng)常被那些生態(tài)環(huán)境保護主義者忽視，在近乎瘋狂的保護部分生物的同時(shí)，他們積極鼓勵人們先消滅其他的生物。因此，接下來(lái)的幾分鐘，讓我們把平時(shí)對這些生物的感覺(jué)放在一邊，談?wù)剮追N真正“酷”的動(dòng)物。

北方黑魚(yú)

This toothsome Chinese native burst into the American consciousness in the summer of 2002, when their discovery in a Maryland pond raised fears that they'd soon swim and wriggle across the eastern United States. (Yes, wriggle: Snakeheads can survive for hours out of water, and are capable of overland excursions). 北方黑魚(yú)這種可口的中國特產(chǎn)，首次大規模進(jìn)入美國民眾視線(xiàn)，是在2002年的夏天。當時(shí)人們在馬里蘭湖中發(fā)現了這種魚(yú)類(lèi)，擔心這種魚(yú)會(huì )很快游出馬里蘭，“走”出美國東部。(是的，他們能“走”：黑魚(yú)在離開(kāi)水后仍能存活數個(gè)小時(shí)，并可以在陸地上緩慢“挪”動(dòng)。)

That fear has yet to materialize, but the hardy fish have been spotted in the urban waters of New York City, likely released by aquarium owners as the latest foreign arrivals to America's great immigrant haven.

雖然目前這種擔心還沒(méi)有成為現實(shí)，但報道稱(chēng)已在紐約市城市用水中發(fā)現這種“堅強魚(yú)”的身影。外界猜測很可能他們是從水族館里跑了出來(lái)，成了“移民天堂”新近迎來(lái)的遠道而來(lái)的客人。

Asian Carp

亞洲鯉魚(yú)

Watching the Obama administration and Army Corps of Engineers inexplicably delay closing the Great Lakes to this invader, demanding more study even as biologists warn of impending ecological catastrophe and sportfishery destruction, is like watching a disaster in slow-motion.

雖然許多生物學(xué)家曾經(jīng)警告，如果不及時(shí)清理五大湖地區的亞洲鯉魚(yú)，當地生態(tài)系統馬上就會(huì )有滅頂之災，釣魚(yú)業(yè)也將嚴重受損，但奧巴馬政府以及美國陸軍工程兵團仍然推遲清理五大湖亞洲鯉魚(yú)的計劃并責成有關(guān)各方進(jìn)行更多的調查。這一決定讓人們無(wú)法理解，看著(zhù)這一決定，似乎就像在看一場(chǎng)災難以慢動(dòng)作的方式緩慢到來(lái)。

But above it all, sometimes literally, is the Asian carp itself: massive, growing to over 100 pounds, able to eat several times its body weight every day. When spooked by boat motors, they have a tendency to leap high out of the water, posing a chest-high impact threat and accomplishing what people never could: making motorboaters slow down.

上面講的這種亞洲鯉魚(yú)體型巨大，一般能夠長(cháng)到100磅以上，每天能夠吃掉超過(guò)自己體重幾倍的食物。當被水中的馬達聲驚嚇到時(shí)，它們就會(huì )躍出水面，跳到半空，威脅船上的人。它們能做到人類(lèi)無(wú)法做到的--那就是讓摩托艇減速。

Kudzu

野葛

People who live in areas of the southeastern United States where kudzu has overgrown everything have little good to say about this Japanese import. To an outsider, however, confronted by mile after homogeneous mile, by kudzu in the shape of towering trees or telephone poles inside, it's extraordinary.

生活在美國東南部的人們對這種從日本引進(jìn)的鋪天蓋地省長(cháng)的野葛不會(huì )有什么正面的評價(jià)。然而，對于外地人來(lái)說(shuō)，看到一種植物像電線(xiàn)桿一樣高聳林立、連綿不絕長(cháng)達數百里的景象，絕對是蔚為壯觀(guān)的。

And who knows, perhaps "the plant that ate the South" will make for good biofuel.

話(huà)說(shuō)回來(lái)，以后的事情誰(shuí)知道呢，說(shuō)不定這些“吃掉南方的植物”將來(lái)能成為優(yōu)良的生物燃料呢。

Wild Boar

野豬

A suburbanized, ecologically fragmented America has little room for seriously big native animals. Moose stay in what remains of New England's wilds; undomesticated bison are restricted to a few Great Plains patches; grizzly bear are practically gone; elk are — well, great, but they're not huge.

由于美國實(shí)行郊區化，加上生態(tài)區相對分散，所有鮮有那種超大體型的動(dòng)物生存。駝鹿現今仍生活在新英格蘭的偏遠地區；不宜馴服的野牛僅在大草原的幾塊土地上生活；灰熊幾乎絕跡；麋鹿的狀況還不錯，但是它們并算不上大型動(dòng)物。

But the wild boar, brought to the United States by Spanish settlers in the 16th century, is now found throughout the southeast. These animals can grow to 10 feet or more in length, and an weigh more than 1,000 pounds. When one Georgia hunter shot an especially massive hog — now known as Hogzilla — it made the cover of the late, great Weekly World News.

但是野豬，這種16世紀西班牙定居者帶來(lái)的動(dòng)物，棲息地現在已經(jīng)遍布美國東南部。它們可以長(cháng)到10英尺或者更長(cháng)，體重有的超過(guò)1000多磅。當一位喬治亞的獵人捕到一頭體型超大的野豬--也就是現在大家稱(chēng)作的“野豬王”，馬上這條消息就上了當期《世界新聞周刊》的封面。

But unlike Bat Boy or the shaved ape baby adopted by Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, however, Hogzilla was real.

與“蝙蝠俠”還有薩達姆、本拉登收養的“猿孩”不同的是，野豬王是真實(shí)存在的。

Burmese Python

緬甸蟒

Thanks to its tropical climate, zoo-wrecking hurricanes and a greater-than-usual number of people with a hankering for fashionably exotic pets, Florida is an invasive-species mecca. Squirrel monkeys, capybara, Gambian pouch rats, scorpions, Butterfly Peacock fish, a menagerie of parakeets, the list goes on, and on and on.

由于地處熱帶，而且颶風(fēng)讓動(dòng)物園面目全非，再加上一大幫珍禽異獸的狂熱粉絲，佛羅里達成了這些外來(lái)物種的“圣城”。這里有松鼠猴，水豚，非洲甘比亞鼠，蝎子，蝴蝶孔雀魚(yú)，還有大批的長(cháng)尾鸚鵡，外來(lái)客的名單越來(lái)越長(cháng)，列入其中的動(dòng)物越來(lái)越多。

But of all these newcomers, one stands out: the Burmese python. One of the world's largest snakes, they run 12 feet long on average, move with equal ease between land, water and trees, and are known to eat,

with disastrous consequences

, full-grown alligators.

在所有的這些“新來(lái)的”動(dòng)物中，最扎眼的要數緬甸蟒。這是世界上體型最大的蛇的一種，平均身長(cháng)有12英尺，不管在陸地上、水上、樹(shù)上，它們都能自由行走。令人生畏的是，緬甸蟒以吞食成年短吻鱷為生。

Nile Monitor Lizard

尼羅巨蜥

With more invasive lizard species than natives, Florida scores a second mention. Nile monitor lizards are not as big as Burmese pythons, maxing out around 6 feet long, but unlike the snakes, these razor-toothed, dagger-clawed predators are known to hunt in packs.

要說(shuō)起哪里的外來(lái)蜥蜴比當地的數量多，就不得不再提起佛羅里達州。尼羅巨蜥沒(méi)有緬甸蟒大，最大不過(guò)6英尺長(cháng)，但與蛇不同的是，這些長(cháng)著(zhù)剃刀般牙齒、以及匕首一樣爪子的食肉動(dòng)物成群結隊的進(jìn)行捕獵。

Combine that with swimming prowess and the ability to outrun a man, and I, for one, welcome our new Nile monitor overlords.

不但游泳技術(shù)高超，而且奔跑能力過(guò)人，我不得不說(shuō)，尼羅巨蜥“霸主”之名當之無(wú)愧。

Barred Tiger Salamander

橫帶虎斑蠑螈

Invasive amphibian species are, as a rule, an extra-big bummer: Released African clawed frogs appear to have been the original host of the chytrid fungus, which now threatens to eradicate amphibians from large swaths of the globe.

一般來(lái)說(shuō)，外來(lái)的兩棲類(lèi)物種“下場(chǎng)”都很慘。被貿易的非洲爪蟾據傳是蛙壺菌的原始攜帶者，現在這一病菌正在威脅全球范圍內所有的兩棲動(dòng)物的生存。

But there's one happy amphibian story, kind of: The barred tiger salamander, imported from Texas to California 60 years ago, has mixed with native, endangered California tiger salamanders. The resulting hybrid is a "superpredator," which could be bad news for California's original tiger salamanders, not to mention other, tasty amphibians. But at least the hybrid is part-endangered, too.

當然必然的悲傷之中也有偶然的“僥幸”：60年前從德克薩斯州引進(jìn)到加利福尼亞的橫帶虎斑蠑螈與當地的加州虎斑蠑螈交配，產(chǎn)下一種混血蠑螈，這種蠑螈被稱(chēng)為“超級殺手”，這對于加州當地土生土長(cháng)的虎斑蠑螈不是個(gè)好消息，對其他那些可口的兩棲動(dòng)物來(lái)說(shuō)就更糟糕了。但“可喜”的是，這種混血蠑螈也部分瀕臨滅絕的境地。

European Starling

歐洲椋鳥(niǎo)

In the 134 years since their release by an eccentric New York group(led by a pharmacist bent, according to legend, on introducing to America each bird mentioned in Shakespeare), European starlings have thrived.

自從134年前一個(gè)古怪的紐約組織開(kāi)始引進(jìn)歐洲椋鳥(niǎo)，這種鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)數量的增長(cháng)便一發(fā)不可收拾。(這個(gè)組織由一名舉止怪異的藥劑師領(lǐng)導，根據歷史記載，他們的任務(wù)就是將莎士比亞作品談及的所有鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)引進(jìn)到美國來(lái)。)

They've also crowded out native bird species across the continent, and regularly cause problems for commercial airplanes. But there are few sights as magical as a vast starling flock in perfectly synchronized flight, literally obeying laws that

這些椋鳥(niǎo)幾乎趕走了美國當地所有的鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)，而且經(jīng)常給飛機的正常航行帶來(lái)麻煩。就像某種神秘力量的驅使一樣，有時(shí)人們會(huì )發(fā)現有相當數量的一大群椋鳥(niǎo)居然完全同步的飛行，只能說(shuō)它們遵循的一定是那些超越日常我們了解的物理的那些規律。

Dandelions

蒲公英

Exhibit A in the case against people who can't appreciate what's right in front of them: the much-maligned dandelion. Each bloom a small sunburst, its breeze-catching seeds a source of childhood delight, it's also the prime villain of a lawn-care industry dedicated to its eradication.

對于那些明明近在眼前卻不知道感激的人們，蒲公英照樣表現出眾，盡管它們飽受非議。每一次綻放就像一小縷突然迸發(fā)的陽(yáng)光，微風(fēng)送去的種子給孩子們帶去快樂(lè )，但它們卻是草坪修理行業(yè)的頭號公敵。

Thankfully, the same quality that's made dandelions the mortal enemy of homogeneous lawn lovers is also its salvation. Like most invasive species, it thrives in disturbed areas, and there's nothing more disturbed than a lawn, where dandelions don't reduce biodiversity, but improve it.

令人欣慰的是，雖然蒲公英到處播撒種子讓愛(ài)好清潔草坪的人頭痛不已，但就像其他那些外來(lái)物種一樣，它們選擇在“失衡”的地方繁衍，沒(méi)有別的地方比草坪更“失衡”的了。在這里，蒲公英不但沒(méi)有破壞這里的生態(tài)多樣性，反而維護和加強了這種多樣性。