【推荐1】Dragging a sleigh loaded with enough presents for the world's children can be no easy skill. But, since ancient times, the duty has been performed by a team of beloved reindeer.

Soon, however, we may have to start looking around for a stronger type of animal, as new research shows the species is becoming increasingly puny. A 16-year survey on the arctic Norwegian islands, Svalbard, found the reindeer there have declined in weight by an alarming 12 percent.

The reduction in average body weight is being blamed on global warming. In the research presented lately at a meeting of the British Ecological Society in Liverpool, scientists have explained how upward temperatures are robbing female reindeer of nutrients during important periods of pregnancy.

Snow in Svalbard typically covers the ground for eight months of a year, which, combined with low temperatures, limits grass growth to June and July. But as summer temperatures increase by around 1.5 ℃, grass has become more productive, allowing female reindeer to gain more weight by autumn and therefore to have more babies. However, winters have brought with them greater rainfall which freezes when it settles on the snow. Reindeer can often access the poor food sources beneath the snow by clearing it away with their antlers（鹿角）, but they cannot break through the hard ice. As a result, female reindeer are becoming starved, causing them to lose their babies or give birth to the much lighter young.

Despite the findings, reindeer appear to be suffering less from the effect of climate change than some other arctic species. Last week the scientists warned that a third of the world's polar bears could disappear in the next 40 years.

【推荐2】When rescuers were called to rescue a “little owl (猫头鹰)”, they did not expect to find one that was too fat to fly. A concerned citizen first found the poor bird lying helplessly. Even Rufus Samkin, one of the rescuers, believed the bird to be injured. There were no wounds to be found, however, causing experts to believe the female owl was simply too wet to fly.

But it was only after a thorough drying-off and complete check up that they noted the real issue. The rescuers weighed the owl and guessed that she was “simply extremely fat” and couldn’t take off. Experts began to wonder how she got so fat. Because it’s rather unusual for wild birds to reach such a state, they decided to keep her a few weeks and monitor her.

In the end, the rescuers believed that it was simply a case of “natural fatness”. December 2021 was quite warm, which meant that there were many insects for the bird to eat. Indeed, the owl was discovered in a field that was “filled with field mice” due to the climate. “It’s been very mild here, and the owl is able to find food easily,” Samkin explained. “With the sudden food, she ate much and got very fat. She had a lovely time, but went too far.”

The researchers then put the owl on a “strict diet”, so she could shrink to a more “natural weight”. She was even put on a bit of exercise and encouraged to fly around. In the end, she was sent flying off into the countryside at a much healthier and happier weight. Hopefully, this owl won’t come upon another feast of field mice—unless she wants another few weeks at the fat camp.