Churchill, Manitoba is a small, rural Canadian town that lives with neighboring predators and loves it. That is because the predators — a polar bear population — attract the visitors who saved the town’s economy after a military base there closed. Tourists wanting to see the bears bring millions of dollars into the local economy.  马尼托巴省的丘吉尔是加拿大的一个乡村小镇，与邻近的掠食者一起生活并热爱它。这是因为掠食者——北极熊种群——吸引了游客，在军事基地关闭后，游客拯救了该镇的经济。想要观赏熊的游客为当地经济带来了数百万美元的收入。  However, the bears are entering the town more often in search of food. Researchers say the sea ice where the bears normally hunt is shrinking.  然而，熊越来越频繁地进入城镇寻找食物。研究人员表示，熊通常捕食的海冰正在缩小。  Geoff York is with Polar Bears International, a nonprofit environmental group based in Manitoba. York said: “You're seeing more bears because there are more bears on the land for longer periods of time to be seen” and they are willing to take more risks, getting closer to people.  杰夫·约克 (Geoff York) 就职于北极熊国际组织，这是一家总部位于马尼托巴省的非营利性环保组织。约克说：“你会看到更多的熊，因为陆地上有更多的熊，而且可以看到的时间更长”，而且它们愿意承担更多的风险，与人类更加亲近。  There are about 600 polar bears in this Western Hudson Bay population. Environmentalists say that is about half what it was 40 years ago. Humans in Churchill outnumber the bears although not by very many.  西哈德逊湾地区约有 600 只北极熊。环保人士称，这大约是 40 年前的一半。丘吉尔的人类数量超过了熊，尽管数量不多。  It has been more than 10 years since a polar bear attacked anyone in Churchill. But townspeople look out for each other and tourists with a warning system and guards. There is even a polar bear jail. 丘吉尔地区已经有十多年没有北极熊袭击任何人了。但镇上的人们通过警报系统和警卫互相照顾和照顾游客。甚至还有北极熊监狱。 Sergeant Ian Van Nest is a Manitoba province conservation officer. He recently guarded the streets of Churchill in his truck. It was the beginning of polar bear season in Churchill.  伊恩·范·内斯特中士是马尼托巴省的一名保护官员。他最近开着卡车守卫着丘吉尔的街道。这是丘吉尔北极熊季节的开始。  The vehicle is equipped with a rifle and a barred back seat to hold anyone he might have to arrest.  这辆车配备了步枪和一个带铁栅栏的后座，可以容纳他可能需要逮捕的任何人。 Van Nest saw a crowd of people who were watching a bear. He looked around for trouble in the area and then quietly spoke to the group's leader.  范内斯特看到一群人正在观看一只熊。他环顾四周是否有麻烦，然后小声地与该组织的领导交谈。  “How are you today?” Van Nest asked. The group leader answered that they were all right and then asked if their gathering place is acceptable to Van Nest.  “你今天怎么样？” 范内斯特问道。领队回答说没问题，然后询问范内斯特是否可以接受他们的聚集地。  “You’re good,” the officer answered. “You [have] got a lot of distance there,” he added. So, the tour group continued to watch a polar bear on some nearby rocks.  “你很好，”军官回答。“你在那里有很长的距离，”他补充道。于是，旅行团继续在附近的一些岩石上观看北极熊。 Visitors interested in seeing the polar bears saved Churchill from shrinking out of existence when a military base there closed in the 1970s. The closure led to a drop in Churchill’s population, from a few thousand residents to about 870.  20 世纪 70 年代