弗吉尼亚一只红肩鹰吃邻居散养鸡吃到太胖飞不动：体重逾910克被送去减肥
位于美国弗吉尼亚州的罗阿诺克市（Roanoke）近日收治了一名特别的病人：一只成年雌性红肩鹰被居民发现在自家车道上不肯飞，送到当地野生动物医院后，兽医排除了骨折、铅中毒、眼部问题、头部外伤、消瘦与瘀伤，体重秤给出了答案——它重逾910克（约2磅），被诊断为胖到飞不起来，目前正在接受减肥饮食。
据罗阿诺克西南弗吉尼亚野生动物中心（Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke）在 Facebook 发布的病例说明，这只红肩鹰的病历号为 RSHA 26-2599，是在离该中心约一英里的居民车道上被发现的。中心写道：「诊断结果是：它体重逾910克，实在是太胖了，飞不起来！它身上的脂肪层厚到我们连龙骨都摸不到。」按该中心说法，这一体重比同种雌鹰的正常体重高出近一磅。中心还指出，野生动物在没有人类干预的情况下变胖「非常罕见」。
它变胖的原因很快有了线索。发现它的居民向邻居打听后得知，附近散养的鸡在过去几周里正以惊人的速度减少。该中心描述了它的日常：「这位『女王』守着眼前这桌容易到手的自助餐，吃饱了就到附近树上打盹，睡醒了再吃。早上鸡一放出来，它就再吃一只，如此反复。几周这样吃吃睡睡下来，难怪它胖到飞不动了。」中心同时提醒，体重超标让这只本应是捕食者的鹰变得「极其脆弱」。
这则病例说明11月初经合众国际社（UPI）等媒体报道后，11月5日又被 Dexerto 等平台转载，在社交媒体上疯传，网友纷纷留言打趣。该中心表示，这只红肩鹰目前留在中心接受减肥饮食，并呼吁养鸡的居民给鸡舍活动区加盖顶棚，免得后院变成捕食者的自助餐厅。截至发稿，它何时能减重达标、重返野外，中心尚未公布时间表。
Virginia Red-Shouldered Hawk Too Fat to Fly After Feasting on Neighbor's Chickens: 910-Gram Bird Put on a Diet
Roanoke, Virginia, has taken in an unusual patient: an adult female red-shouldered hawk found sitting in a resident's driveway refusing to fly. Vets at the local wildlife hospital ruled out fractures, lead poisoning, eye problems, head trauma, emaciation and bruising — the scale gave the answer. She weighed more than 910 grams (about 2 pounds) and was diagnosed as too fat to fly. She is now on a weight-loss diet.
According to the case post published on Facebook by the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke, the hawk — patient RSHA 26-2599 — was found about a mile from the center. "The diagnosis: At over 910g in weight, she was too darn fat to fly! We couldn't even palpate her keel due to the heavy layer of fat covering it," the center wrote. By the center's account, that is nearly a full pound above the normal weight for a female of her species, and it noted that it is "RARE for wild animals to become obese without human intervention."
The reason soon became clear. The resident who found the bird asked around and learned that free-roaming chickens nearby had been disappearing at an alarming rate over the previous several weeks. The center described her routine: "This queen was picking off the buffet of easy prey set out before her, eating her fill, and then snoozing in the trees nearby until she was ready to eat again. The chickens were let out in the morning, she ate another, and repeat. After weeks of repeating this feasting and sleeping, it's no wonder she got too fat to fly!" The center added that the excess weight had left the predator "extremely vulnerable."
The case was first reported by outlets including UPI in early November and spread widely on social media after Dexerto and other platforms picked it up on November 5, drawing amused comments from Facebook users. The center says the hawk is staying on a weight-loss diet and urges chicken owners to cover their runs so backyards do not become buffets for wild predators. As of publication, the center has not announced when she might reach a healthy weight and return to the wild.
来源：罗阿诺克西南弗吉尼亚野生动物中心
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：红肩鹰资料图（Andy Morffew 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons），非涉事鹰只
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
