“胆大包天”，狩猎袋鼠 “Dare” to Hunt Kangaroos

狩猎袋鼠，听起来很残忍，非法，好不应该啊！袋鼠是受野生动物法保护的。袋鼠是澳大利亚国徽上的动物。怎么能猎杀啊！中国的熊猫，谁敢斗胆猎杀？Cruel and illegal as it sounds, kangaroo hunting should never take place. Kangaroos are protected by the relevant wildlife protection laws. Kangaroo is one of the two animals whose images are shown in the national emblem of Australia. How can kangaroo hunting be allowed to occur! By way of comparison, who dares to hunt Chinese pandas?

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请莫急，让我细细讲来！袋鼠是澳大利亚才有的动物。澳大利亚国徽上两种动物：一是袋鼠，一是鸸鹋。袋鼠又可以分出很多不同种类。最简单的一种分类法，便是分为灰色袋鼠和红色袋鼠两类。Please bear with me！Let me delve into the details. Kangaroos are animals unique to Australia. There are two animals engraved onto the national emblem of Australia: kangaroo and emu. There are different species of kangaroos and very broadly they can be classified into two groups: gray kangaroos and red kangaroos.

澳大利亚被称为骑在羊背上的国家。此处的羊，既指羊(如美丽奴绵羊)，也泛指畜牧业（包括牛等）。就是说放养牛羊等畜牧业，是国民经济中非常重要的一部分。既然畜牧业如此重要，当然应该看护好啦。Australia has been known as “a country riding on sheep's back”. The sheep here not only refers to sheep (such as Merino sheep) in a strict sense, but also animal husbandry (including cattle, etc.) broadly. That is to say, agriculture plus particularly husbandry such as stocking cattle and sheep are very important part of the national economy.

生态平衡，是时下非常流行的名词。袋鼠在澳大利亚，全国都有。它们生于自然，长于野外。有些地方袋鼠生长繁殖缓慢。而其他地方，可能繁殖过快，导致袋鼠数量过多。过多就生事，可能与牛羊争食，影响畜牧业发展，导致生态不平衡。Ecological balance is a very popular term nowadays. Kangaroos are found throughout Australia. They are born in nature and grow in the wild. Kangaroo population grows slowly in some places. In other places, however they may breed too fast, resulting in too many kangaroos. Rapid growing populations of kangaroo cause trouble, because the competition with cattle and sheep for food and can lead to ecological imbalances. 

在澳大利亚历史上，曾发生过野兔生长繁殖过快过多的情况。漫山遍野，全是兔子，成为灾害。费尽九牛二虎之力才得以消灭大部分野兔，而保持生态平衡。如果在一些袋鼠繁殖得太多太快的地方，不能控制袋鼠数量，便会出现鼠害。In the history of Australia, there have been cases where the wild rabbits had grown too fast, although those rabbits were an introduced species instead of being native to Australia. Mountains and fields were full of wild rabbits and this soon became a disaster. It took tremendous effort to get rid of most rabbits to restore ecological balance. If at places where kangaroos reproduce too much and too fast, resulting in that the number of kangaroos cannot be controlled, kangaroo disaster will occur.

于是，在一些袋鼠数量过多的地方，当地政府会发执照给有资质的猎人，对袋鼠实行有控制的猎杀。按照规定，持照人在某一给定时段内，在什么区域范围内，只能猎杀多少头袋鼠。并且规定，母鼠和幼鼠不能猎杀。Therefore, in places where there are too many kangaroos, the local government will issue licenses to qualified hunters to conduct controlled hunting of kangaroos. According to regulations, the licensee can only hunt restricted number of kangaroos in a given period of time and in a particular area. It is also stipulated that female and young kangaroos cannot be hunted. 

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1987 年 5 月，La Trobe 大学地质系组织高年级大学生去中部沙漠作野外实习。实习地在著名的断山钢铁公司的矿场不远处。但离悉尼却有一千多公里。离墨尔本则更远些。实习地详细地址是：Shearer's Quarters on Plumbago Station, Weekeroo Station。作为比较有野外地质工作经验的博士研究生，我被受邀去协助指导野外实习。In May 1987, the Department of Geology, La Trobe University, organised senior undergraduate students to go to the outback for field work. The site is not far from a mine of the famous Broken Hill Iron and Steel Company， but it is more than a thousand kilometres from Sydney, and even further away from Melbourne. The address of the practice site is: Shearer's Quarters on Plumbago Station, Weekeroo Station . As a PhD candidate with more experience in field geology, I was invited to guide and assist with the field practice work.

说到野外地质实习，我们先看下澳大利亚总体的地质概况，会很有益处。有人说，澳大利亚是很年轻而又非常古老。说年轻，是指澳大利亚联邦成立至今，还不到200年。中国，埃及，印度等不是谈几千年文明史么。比较起来，澳大利亚，当然年轻哪！讲古老，是曾经在澳大利亚土地上发现有年龄约为40亿年左右的矿物。包括地球和月亮在内的太阳系被认为是约45亿年前形成的。都快接近太阳系年龄了，当然古老啦！不过，我们领导学生去实习的地方，岩石没这么老，就20多亿年的年龄吧！将人活百来岁与这20多亿年比起来，还是很老很老的了。Speaking of field geological work, it would be useful to first look at the geological background of Australia. It is said that Australia is very young and also very old. The reference to Australia “being very young” is due to the  fact that the Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia is less than 200 years. China, Egypt, India, etc. are talking about thousands of years of civilization history. In comparison, Australia, of course, is young! But on the other hand, there are over 4 billion years old minerals being found in the rocks of Australia. The solar system, including the earth and the moon, is thought to have formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The age of old mineral found in Australian land is almost approaching the age of the solar system, and of course it is really very ancient! However, the rock at where we led students for field geologic practice, is not as old as 4 or 4.5 billion, and rather it is just over 2 billion years old! Comparing with the fact old people live around one hundred years old, the rocks with two billion years of age are still very old.

很巧，在我们领学生去实习时，我们宿营地附近，正好有一持照猎人在打猎。这猎人不仅猎技高，而且人很友善。很快就与前去的师生们混熟，并交上了朋友。当他跟我们讲起如何在夜间猎杀袋鼠和狐狸的故事时，许多学生不仅听得入神，而且跃跃欲试，争取着想与他一起参加狩猎，亲历惊悚。我当然也是很想去的。不过，我不好意思与学生们争，只是比较含蓄地表达了一下意愿，最后确定让我去，因为我是来自远方的人，算客人。Coincidentally, at the place where we led our students for field practice, there was a licensed hunter hunting near our camp. The hunter was not only good at hunting, but also friendly. Soon he got acquainted with the teachers and students who were there and made friends with those. When he told us the story of how to hunt kangaroos and foxes in an evening, many students not only listened to what he said, but also eagerly tried to join him in hunting for the thrilling experience. I certainly wanted to go, too. However, I was embarrassed to contend with students, but only expressed my desire subtly.  Finally the hunter decided to let me go, because I was a person from afar and regarded as a guest.

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傍晚时分，猎人驾着他的猎车来营地接我。猎车是一辆四轮驱动的丰田越野车。里面装有两枝猎枪。一枝专门用来打袋鼠的，另一枝则用于来猎狐狸。车相当于一个架托，枪把和瞄准可以自由移动。还有可移动的探照灯。猎人可以将灯 移动，照射目标物。猎人客气地邀我坐于副驾位。叮嘱我一定系好安全带。Passing dusk of the second Monday, the hunter drove to our camp to pick me up. He drove a four-wheel drive, off-road Toyota. The vehicle was equipped with two shotguns: one for shooting kangaroos and the other for fox hunting. The vehicle itself was used as a bracket; the shotguns can move freely. There were also removable spotlights. The hunter could move the spotlight to search for and to illuminate the target. The hunter politely invited me to sit in the co-driver seat, reminding me to fasten the seat belt.

真不敢相信我会是这样的特别行动的一部分。我小时候在中国看过诸如《沙漠追匪记》的电影。电影映现的沙漠是一个接一个的沙丘，沙丘由散沙组成，风可以将沙子吹起、吹走。澳大利亚有约760万平方公里的土地，其中百分之七八十是沙漠，分布在大陆中部地区。沙漠地带呈土红色。地势蛮平坦。地上稀疏地长着一些不是很高(也有与人同高或比人稍高的，但多数与膝同高)的植物。I could not believe my luck in being part of this adventure. When I was a kid in China, I saw a movie called "Chasing Bandits in the Desert". The desert I saw in the movie consisted of many sand dunes, one after another; those dunes are composed of loose sand, and the wind can blow the sand up and away. Australia has about 7.6 million square kilometres of territorial area, of which 70 to 80 per cent is desert, and is located in the central part of the mainland, called Outback. The surface of the desert area is earthy red. The terrains are quite flat. The ground sparsely grow with plants that are not very tall (some are as tall as humans or slightly taller, but most are just reaching the height of knees).

地势为什么平坦呢？因为岩石地层老，漫长时期的风化剝蚀和流水搬运等自然作用，把它们弄平了。这在全世界都是一样的。凡属地下是古老岩石，地势就较平。那些高山（如喜马拉雅山)，往往由年龄相对小的岩石组成Why is the terrain so flat? Because the rocks are very old; weathering, erosion and transportation by natural forces through millions and even billions of years have flattened them. This is the same all over the world. Where the rocks underneath are ancient, the terrain will be relatively flat. The lofty and large mountains (such as the Himalayas) are often composed of relatively young rocks.。

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车在红漠中走着，驶着；我们一路交谈着，天就黑了。在黑暗中又行驶了约半个小时。轻慢地，猎人停住了车，对我招手示意，要我莫动别出声。然后，他握住了打狐狸的猎枪，只稍微瞄准了一下便开枪了。枪响后，他高兴地说，打中了，我们捡狐狸去吧。我楞了下，问，怎么回事啊？也没看到有狐狸呀。这一问，打开了他的话匣子。他滔滔不绝地讲开了。说狐狸总是躲在矮植物中，看不到的。但狐狸的两只眼睛，像猫的眼睛一样，会反射探照灯的光。于是，通过狐狸的两只眼睛就可以知道狐狸在哪。瞄准代表狐狸两只眼睛部位的两个点射击就行。高手一定要将子弹射于两个亮点之间，那是狐狸的脑袋。偏了就打在狐狸身上了，狐狸可能跑掉。身上中了子弹，皮毛就不完整，卖不出好价钱。The vehicle was moving in the red desert; we talked along the way, and it was getting dark. Having driven in the dark for about half an hour, slowly and gently, the hunter stopped the vehicle and beckoned to me, asking me not to make a noise. Then he grabbed the shotgun for fox shooting and fired for just a little aiming. After the gun went off, he said happily: “hit, let's pick up the fox!” I was confused and asked, what's going on? I hadn't seen even a fox. This question opened his conversation lice Pandora’s box. He talked away, saying that the foxes are always hiding in the dwarf plants and could not be seen. But the fox's eyes, like the eyes of a cat, reflected the light from a spotlight. Then, through the eyes of the fox, one gets to know where a fox is. Just aim at two light points representing the positions of the two eyes of the fox. A master must shoot the bullet between two bright spots, that is the head of the fox. If he missed the fox’s head at shooting, the fox might run away. With a bullet in the fox’s body, the fur is incomplete and he could not sell for a good price. It would all happen in a split second, with no time for hesitation.

很快，我们驱车到了狐狸倒地处。果真捡到一只头部中弹的大狐狸。我一方面为他的高超枪技和经验赞叹，另一方面很是为狐狸悲伤。Soon, we drove to where the fox fell. We really found a big fox shot in the head. On one hand, I admired his superb gun skills and experience, but on the other hand I felt sad for the fox.

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车子继续前行。二十来分钟后，发现前面有一群袋鼠，其中三只待在一空旷而地势相对高些的地方。这次，猎人没有示意我安静什么的，而是稍侧头看了我一眼，说要开始打袋鼠啦！We continued our quiet prowl through the night. Twenty minutes later, a group of kangaroos were found in the not-far-away front of us, three of them staying in an open and relatively high place. This time, the hunter didn't signal me to be quiet or anything, but glanced at me a little and said that he would start to shoot kangaroo now!

然后，他将车将左前移动了少许停下。手托打袋鼠的猎枪瞄了约一两秒钟，便射出了第一颗子弹。中间的那只袋鼠应声倒下。我说，要开车去捡袋鼠了吧。他说，莫急。接着，他又瞄准了右边的那只袋鼠开枪啦。中弹的袋鼠乱蹦了几下，又倒地了。这下，他说我们收袋鼠去吧！我问，还有一只怎么不打啦？他说那是母的，不可以打。我心里赞叹，真是守规则啊！Then he moved the vehicle a little to the left front and stopped. He held the kangaroo shooting gun and aimed for only a second or two before firing the first bullet. The kangaroo in the middle fell down. I said, “Shall we go to pick up the kangaroos now?” He said, no hurry. Then he aimed the kangaroo on the right and fired. The shot kangaroo bounced a few times and fell to the ground. This time, he said: “Let’s go now to pick up the kangaroos! I asked: “Why didn’t you hit the third one?” He said “it’s a female and could not be hit”. I respected that he adhere to the rules when no one was watching!

在行进中，我问，第一只袋鼠倒地后，另外两只为什么不跑啊！他说，袋鼠一生从未见过这样的场面，根本不知道这是在要它们的命，所以没有逃的意识。当晚，一共猎获3 只狐狸，7 只袋鼠。During the march, I asked why the other two did not run after the first kangaroo fell to the ground! He said that the kangaroo had never seen such a scene before in their life and did not know what the peril they were in, so they did not have the sense of escape. That night, we hunted a total of 3 foxes and 7 kangaroos. 

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很长时间，是将袋鼠肉处理冷冻好后，在澳洲本土或出口到海外作宠物（如狗等）食物。现在不同了，继续作宠物食品外，也在当地超市作人类食品出售。并并被认为是环保、天然食品。For a long time, after the kangaroo meat was processed and frozen, it was used as food for pets (such as dogs) in Australia and overseas. It's different now. In addition to being pet food, it is also sold in local supermarkets for the consumption of human being. It is even considered to be a healthy, low fat red meat.

我们直至第二天东方发白才回到营地。一整晚下来，心情是复杂的。虽然理性上觉得，适量捕杀袋鼠，应该有必要。但感性上觉得，太残忍了。下次不想去了！We didn't return to the camp until the dawn of next day. All night, my mood had been complicated. Although it was reasonable to think that it should be necessary to kill the right number of kangaroos. But emotionally, it was cruel. Don't want to go next time!

最后，还是言归地质吧! 地质学是一门伟大的科学。地质工作，对帮助找寻矿产，发展经济非常重要；同时又可以对人们认识地球，太阳系乃至整个宇宙的形成和发展提供帮助。从事地质工作，集出汗、欢乐、浪漫、锻炼、历险等多项于一体，使生活充满起伏和动态，真真地不错。地质工作者的上下平等，团队合作做事，堪称一流。这次野外实习的总指导，是大名鼎鼎的爱伦.怀特教授。他是指导我做博士学位研究工作的三位教授之一；另外两位分别是理查德.普頼斯教授和布鲁斯.教授。这些人，在学问上是老师，在实验室和野外工作中，吃苦耐劳也是身先学生。多年后在怀特教授的追悼会上，主旨发言人说，怀特教授的为人用一句话可以概括：“凡是跟他打过交道的人，都觉得自己很伟大”， 这说明了他非常尊重人，平易见人和激励人。有这样的人实地言传身教，该次实习成绩优异，并且皆大欢喜。Finally, back to geology! Geology is a great science. Geological work helps to find minerals to facilitate economic development; at the same time, it can also help people understand the formation and development of the Earth, the Solar system and the entire Universe. Geological work combines sweating, joy, romance, exercise, adventure and many other things in one, resulting in that geologists’ life is full of ups and downs and dynamics, being really good. The geologists are well known with team equality and team coordination. The overall supervisor of the field trip was Professor Allan White, who was well-known world-wide. He was one of three professors who provided guidance and advice on my work for my PhD research; the other two were Professor Richard Price and Professor Bruce Chappell. These people were teachers/supervisors academically, while in the laboratory and field work, they also worked hard and acted as good work models for students.   Years later at Professor White’s memorial service, the keynote speaker said that Professor White’s personality could be summarized in one sentence: “Anyone who ever dealt with Professor White, he felt himself great.” This showed that Professor White was very respectful, easy-going and inspiring. There was such a wonderful person on the ground to teach and lead, the internship results were excellent, and everyone was happy.

（前排戴帽者是怀特教授 The one with the hat in the front row was Professor White).）

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