泰國海龜誤食許願池硬幣 醫生爲其'洗胃'

Tossing coins in a fountain for luck is a popular superstition, but a similar belief brought misery to a sea turtle in Thailand from whom doctors have reMoved 915 coins.

往噴泉裏扔硬幣來求取好運是一種很常見的迷信活動，但類似的信仰卻把一隻泰國海龜害苦了，醫生從他肚子裏取出了915枚硬幣。

Veterinarians in Bangkok operated last Monday on the 25-year-old female green sea turtle nicknamed "Bank," whose indigestible diet was a result of many tourists seeking good fortune tossing coins into her pool over many years in the eastern town of Sri Racha.

上週一，曼谷的獸醫對一隻25歲雌性綠海龜做了手術，這隻海龜名叫“Bank”，由於常年來東部是拉差鎮的遊客都喜歡往它所居住的水池扔硬幣以求好運，這使得它嚴重消化不良。

Many Thais believe that throwing coins on turtles will bring longevity.

很多泰國人認爲朝海龜扔硬幣可以帶來長壽。

Typically, a green sea turtle has a lifespan of around 80 years, said Roongroje Thanawongnuwech, dean of Chulalongkorn University's veterinary faculty. It is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

朱拉隆功大學獸醫學院院長榮格羅·鬆索功表示，綠海龜一般有80年左右的壽命，目前已被國際自然保護聯盟列爲瀕危物種。

The loose change eventually formed a heavy ball in her stomach weighing 5 kilograms (11 pounds). The weight cracked the turtle's ventral shell, causing a life-threatening infection.

最終這些被它吃掉的零錢在它的胃裏形成了一個重達5公斤（11磅）的球。這不僅壓破了它的腹殼，更造成了致命的感染。

Five surgeons from Chulalongkorn University's veterinary faculty patiently removed the coins over four hours while "Bank" was under general anesthesia.

五名來自朱拉隆功大學獸醫學院的外科醫生，在Bank全身麻醉的狀態下，花費了四個多小時耐心地取出了硬幣。

The stash was too big to take out through the 10-cm (4-inch) incision they had made, so it had to be removed a few coins at a time. Many of them had corroded or partially dissolved.

這個藏在胃裏的硬幣球實在太大，通過10釐米（4英寸）的口子，他們一次只能取出幾個硬幣。其中很多已經腐蝕或部分溶解了。

The result is satisfactory. Now it's up to Bank how much she can recover, said Pasakorn Briksawan, one of the surgical team.

手術小組一位名叫帕薩功·普列斯威的醫生說道：“手術結果還是很令人滿意的，現在能恢復多少就要看Bank自己了。”