Tallon Nightwalker

By+Jennifer+Marino+Walters+譯/袁瑞

保護動物，人人有責——這是我們經常喊的口號，不過真正付諸實踐的人卻不多。來自美國科羅拉多州的少年塔隆·奈特沃克則用自己的行動努力踐行著這個口號，看了他的故事，你是不是也該有所行動呢？

Tallon Nightwalker is on a mission. The young animal lover from Fort Collins， Colorado， wants to be photographed with every species of mammal， bird， reptile， and amphibian1） on Earth. So far， he's on the right track2）： Tallon has photos with 840 species and counting3）.

The project started when Tallon was 5 and began volunteering at the wildlife rehabilitation4） center where his dad works. His father realized he didn't have photos of the many animals he worked with， so he snapped a photo of Tallon with a bull snake. The project took off from there.

Now Tallon has photos with a camel， a spider monkey， a cockatoo5）， a black bear， and all sorts of other creatures. He has held boa constrictors6）， kissed a wolf， and crouched down in front of a pool of crocodiles. He has photos with extremely rare animals， including an okapi7） and a Wyoming toad， which is nearly extinct in the wild. In his favorite photo， a bobcat8） sits on his shoulders.

塔隆·奈特沃克正在執行一個計劃。這位少年來自科羅拉多州柯林斯堡，是一名動物愛好者，他想和地球上的每一種哺乳動物、鳥類、爬行動物及兩棲動物合影。到目前為止（編注：本文寫于2012年12月），他一直朝著正確的方向在努力：塔隆已經和840種動物合過影，而且數目還在增加。

塔隆五歲時便開始了這個計劃，當時他在他爸爸工作的野生動物康復中心當志愿者。塔隆的爸爸意識到他沒有給自己照顧過的許多動物拍過照，于是就給塔隆和一條牛蛇拍了一張。這個計劃就從那時啟動了。

現在，塔隆有和駱駝、蜘蛛猿、鳳頭鸚鵡、黑熊以及其他各種動物的合影。他舉過大蟒蛇，吻過一只狼，還曾蹲在一池子的鱷魚前面。他還和非常稀有的動物合過影，其中包括一只和一只在野外幾乎滅絕的懷俄明蟾蜍。他最喜歡的一張照片是一只短尾貓坐在他肩膀上。

Protecting Animals 保護動物

Tallon's photo project is meant to inspire people to help protect animals， some of which could disappear in his lifetime.

"I hope to help spread the idea of conservation for wildlife and to promote the importance of biodiversity，" Tallon says. "Animals are individuals. They're just as important as me or you."

Tallon shares his photos on his Facebook page， with a description of each animal. He also notes whether the creature is endangered.

Tallon and his dad follow certain rules when taking the photos. No barrier can exist between Tallon and the animal. Tallon can be holding the animal or standing next to someone who is holding it， or it can be behind or in front of Tallon. The animal must also be alive.

Most of Tallon's photos have been taken at zoos， aquariums9）， and wildlife sanctuaries10） in Colorado， where staff members can make sure he is safe. Many were taken at the wildlife rehabilitation center where he still volunteers. Some， such as a photo with a moose11）， were snapped in the wild， where Tallon keeps a safe distance from the animals. He and his dad have traveled out of Colorado for photos twice， once to California and once to South Dakota.endprint

Tallon intends to one day open his own wildlife rehabilitation center. He also plans to continue his photo project for a long time， with the hopes of saving some of the animals he meets.

"I don't know how long it will take to get photos of all [the species]， but I plan to do it until I get old，" Tallon says. "Every animal is unique. Every animal deserves to be protected."

塔隆的拍照計劃旨在激勵人們來幫助保護動物，有些動物可能會在他有生之年滅絕。

“我希望能幫助傳播保護野生動物的理念，宣傳生物多樣性的重要意義，”塔隆說，“動物是獨立的個體，它們和你我一樣重要。”

塔隆在他的Facebook個人主頁上分享了他和那些動物的合影，并對每一種動物進行了描述。他還標出了這些動物是否是瀕危物種。

塔隆和爸爸在拍照時遵循一些原則：塔隆和動物之間不能有阻隔；塔隆可以抱著動物，也可以站在抱著動物的人身邊，或者是動物在塔隆的前面或后面；動物還必須是活的。

塔隆的大多數照片是在科羅拉多州的動物園、水族館和野生動物保護區拍的，在這些地方，工作人員可以保證他的安全。還有許多照片是在野生動物康復中心拍的，他現在還在那里當志愿者。有些照片，比如和駝鹿的合影，是在野外拍的，在野外拍照時，塔隆和動物保持著安全的距離。他和爸爸曾兩次到科羅拉多州以外的地方旅行拍照，一次是去加利福尼亞州，一次是去南達科他州。

塔隆打算將來有一天開辦自己的野生動物康復中心。他還計劃在日后很長的一段時間里繼續他的拍照計劃，希望能拯救他遇到的一些動物。

“我不知道和所有[種類]的動物都合影需要多長時間，但是我打算一直做下去，直到我老了，”塔隆說，“每個動物都是獨一無二的，每個動物都應該受到保護。”

1. amphibian [?m?f?bi?n] n. 兩棲動物；兩棲綱動物

2. on the right track： 循著正確的路線；做法對路

3. and counting： （數量）繼續增長的

4. rehabilitation [?ri???b?l??te??n] n. 康復

5. cockatoo [?k?k??tu?] n. 【鳥】鳳頭鸚鵡，葵花鸚鵡

6. boa constrictor [?b??? k?nstr?kt?（r）] n. 【動】王蛇（一種大蟒）

7. okapi [???kɑ?pi] n. 【動】（產于非洲，類似長頸鹿，不過體型較小，無斑，頸部較短）

8. bobcat [?b?bk?t] n. 【動】紅貓，短尾貓（一種北美野貓）

9. aquarium [??kwe?ri?m] n. 水族館

10. sanctuary [?s??kt?u?ri] n. 禁獵區，（鳥獸）保護區

11. moose [mu?s] n. 【動】麋，駝鹿endprint