美國男子騎鯊魚 鯊魚貪吃不理他

"To everyone sitting on their couches watching Shark Week: that's cool I guess. I prefer to go out, jump in and ride them like a horse." Steve Fernandez did just that with a 20,000lbs whale shark off the coast of New York City.
“坐在沙發上看“鯊魚周”應該也挺酷的。但我更願意來到戶外，跳到海里，像騎馬一樣騎着鯊魚。”史蒂夫·費爾南德斯剛剛在紐約海岸邊和一條重達2萬磅的鯨鯊嬉戲回來。

Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the ocean, growing up to 41 feet long and up to 47,000lbs in weight. Their mouths are full of small teeth they use to filter algae, krill and plankton out of the water, like a whale. They're known for their friendly disposition and curious demeanor. Sightings of them are relatively rare, but they often interact with human swimmers when we do manage to get in the water with them.
鯨鯊是海洋中最大的魚類，成年鯨鯊可達到長41英尺、重47000磅。它們跟鯨魚一樣，口中佈滿尖利的小牙來從水裏過濾藻類，磷蝦和浮游生物。鯨鯊性情溫順又舉止好奇，人們很少能看到它們，然而當人類想在水中和它嬉戲時，它也會迴應游泳者的互動。

Those encounters more frequently occur in tropical waters, particularly off the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The waters off New York are at the northern boundary of their range, so this guy was a rare treat.
這樣的邂逅經常發生在熱帶水域，尤其是墨西哥的尤卡坦半島海岸。紐約的這片水域是在其北部邊界附近，因而能見到鯨鯊實屬難得。

Steve Fernandez was out fishing when he came across this whale shark, then decided to jump in the water for a swim. We asked him about the experience.
史蒂夫·費爾南德斯是在海釣時偶遇這條鯨鯊的，他當即決定跳下水痛快地遊一遊。我們就這次經歷採訪了他。

IndefinitelyWild: How'd you find yourself on the ocean with a whale shark?
IndefinitelyWild（以下簡稱IW）：你是怎麼發現身邊有一條鯨鯊的？

Steve: I grew up in Breezy Point and have spent my entire life on the ocean. My obsession is tuna fishing and I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to fish the offshore waters of New York on a weekly basis.
史蒂夫：我在布里齊波恩特長大，一直與大海爲伴。我非常喜歡釣金槍魚，而每週能有機會在紐約海岸釣魚實在是太幸運了。

IW: Ever come across a whale shark before?
IW：你之前偶遇過鯨鯊嗎？

Steve: I haven't, but I always told myself that, if I did, I would take a swim with it. This one happened upon us while we were fishing and started eating the chunks of fish we were tossing off the boat.
史蒂夫：從沒有，但是我跟自己說要是遇到了，我一定要跟它遊個泳。我們是在釣魚的時候，這一條就悄悄過來了，然後開始大嚼我們扔在船上的魚。

IW: What do you mean when you say you "rode" it?
IW：你說你“騎”了鯊魚是指什麼呢？

Steve: I swam out to the whale shark about 30 feet off the back of the boat. I then swam above it and held its fin as it rose to the surface, eating our bait. I had both my feet on the back of the shark. He sure didn't mind and just wanted to keep gorging on the free meal!
史蒂夫：當時鯨鯊離船大概有30英尺，我就向它遊了過去。然後我游到了它的上方，趁它浮上水面吃我們的餌時抓住了它的鰭。我把兩隻腳都放在了鯊魚的背上，我猜它是不會介意的，因爲它正忙着狼吞虎嚥免費的午餐呢！

IW: Were you scared?
IW：當時你害怕嗎？

Steve: Not at all. There are certain sharks I would not get in the water with, but fortunately a whale shark is one of the many I would swim with. I am pretty familiar with most of the marine life we come across, so that helps ease the nerves. The amount of adrenaline I had running through my veins far surpassed any nerved I may have had from the nearby non-friendly sharks.
史蒂夫：一點都不。有一些種類的鯊魚是不能接觸的，但幸運的是，鯨鯊可以跟人類一起玩耍。對於大部分碰到的海洋生物，我都非常熟悉，這也幫我放鬆了一些。當時我體內的腎上腺素完全超過了我接觸其他附近不友善的鯊魚種類。

IW: Did the shark respond to your presence?
IW：鯊魚迴應你了嗎？

Steve: It actually did, which was one of the reasons why it was so amazing! It slowed down, its eyes rotated towards me as I swam up to it and, as soon as I grabbed onto it, it went right back to eating the chunks of fish, not a hair of concern that I was nearby and touching it. They are very curious and docile and one of the easiest fish to swim with in the ocean.
史蒂夫：它實際是迴應了的，也正是它的迴應讓我特別激動！它放慢了速度，當我往它身上游時它還轉轉眼睛看着我，當我抓住它的鰭時，它就直接繼續回去吃大餐了，根本不在乎我在附近還撫摸着它。他們好奇心特別重，又溫順，實在是大海里最容易一起游泳的魚了。

IW: What did it feel like to be in the water with such a large animal?
IW：跟體形這麼龐大的動物一起游泳是什麼感覺？

Steve: It was just something I have always wanted to do and was one of the many time I've been left in awe while out on the ocean. It was an intelligent creature, 500 times my size and we both looked at each other while we floated in crystal clear water that was over half a mile deep. He knew I was there and that I meant no harm. Honestly, after looking me over, he paid no attention to me.
史蒂夫：這是我一直想做的事兒，在岸上時，我也無數次地對鯨鯊懷有敬畏之心。它們很聰明，又是我體格的500倍，當我浮在將近一英里深的澄澈的水中時，我們還對視了一會兒。它知道我是沒有惡意的。說實話，打量了一下之後它就再沒注意我了。

It's things like this that keep me going out on the ocean week after week, to have a connection like that with another species is just amazing. Just imagine the things it has seen in its lifetime patrolling the deep.
正是這樣的事情驅使我每週都會去海上，和另一種生物有這樣的契合是非常奇妙的。只是想象一下它在深海潛游都會看到什麼就足夠讓人激動了！