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一提到绿海龟，人们想到的多是热带海滩，而不是新西兰。绿海龟并不在新西兰产卵，可年轻的绿海龟却常常出现在北岛较温暖的海域。它们是在一个地方待上几个月，还是沿着海岸不停迁移？新西兰保护部与奥克兰动物园、一家水族馆和当地毛利人群体合作，给 11 只曾经生病或受伤、经治疗后放归的海龟装上卫星标签，逐日追踪。文章先提出问题，再说明研究做法，接着用两只海龟的真实旅程展示发现，然后介绍海龟聚集的“热点”和它们面临的危险，最后交代研究团队的下一步。阅读时可留意 Yet、however、because、for example 等词如何引出转折、原因和例子，以及文中如何区分已确认的发现和兽医的推测（suspect、may）。

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Green sea turtles are usually linked with warm tropical beaches, not New Zealand. They do not lay eggs there. Yet young green turtles are often seen in the warmer waters around the country’s North Island. Scientists have long wondered what these visitors actually do there. Do they stay in one place for months, or do they keep moving along the coast?

New results from a study led by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation are starting to give answers. Karen Middlemiss, who leads the project, describes the country as “sort of like a baby-sitting service for teenagers.” Young turtles spend time there before they return to their nesting beaches in the wider Pacific. Until now, however, very little was known about how each animal used the coast.

To find out, the team, called “Team Turtle,” has worked with Auckland Zoo, an aquarium in Auckland and local Maori groups. Since 2025, they have followed 11 turtles every day for six to twelve months. All of them had been sick or hurt and were cared for before being released. Each one carried a satellite tag, and a new group of 25 satellites made the location data highly accurate.

Some of the journeys were surprisingly long. One turtle, nicknamed 3K, swam nearly 3,000 kilometres in four months. It travelled down the west coast from Rangaunu Harbour in the far north to Wellington and back, stopping for a month in Manukau Harbour on the way home. Another turtle went south along the east coast before returning north to settle in Rangaunu Harbour. Turtles that stayed in this harbour were most often found over seagrass and in harbour channels.

The data also showed several hotspots, mostly harbours and bays in Northland and Auckland. These places matter because the turtles face real dangers. Auckland Zoo has received eight unwell turtles since June alone. Some were injured by fishhooks, fishing lines or boats. Others had illnesses such as pneumonia, which vets suspect may be linked to less food or a damaged ocean environment. The good news is that more than two-thirds of the turtles the zoo treats make a full recovery.

The team now hopes to tag more turtles and bring the total to 20. Middlemiss says the next step is to turn the information into action, for example by getting turtles included in coastal management plans. In the meantime, people in boats are asked to slow down in known turtle areas and to keep watch for animals near the surface.

新闻来源

• Department of Conservation (New Zealand) · Satellite-tagged turtles reveal epic journeys (29 Oct 2026)

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