The Dutch are using an ingenious, low-cost, totally organic solution to the country’s increasing drone problem – they’re having eagles trained to attack the flying machine as they would their usual prey.
如今，无人机引发的问题日益严重，荷兰警方不得不另辟蹊径，训练老鹰来“捕猎”无人机，既节省了开销，也保护了环境。
Drones are becoming a major problem all over the world – they block airspace and interfere with official operations like emergency air ambulance landings. Despite regulations, drone operators are able to get away with misuse. They’re often hidden from view, making it very difficult for authorities to detect their exact position and take action against them.
无人机给全世界都带来了不小麻烦，有的私占了空域，有的甚至妨碍了飞机的紧急迫降。尽管各国现已出台相关法规，但不少无人机使用者仍逍遥法外，毕竟他们时常远程操纵，执法人员因此很难精准定位，将其绳之以法。
The Dutch police were looking at tech-based solutions like remotely taking control of drone operating systems, but forcing a drone to autoland could backfire as it could go completely out of control. Thankfully, raptor training company ‘Guard From Above’ came up with a much better idea – to make use of eagles’ natural hunting instincts.
此前，荷兰警方曾尝试远程干预无人机操作系统，迫使其自动着陆，但结果却事与愿违，因为无人机很容易彻底失控。幸运的是，猛禽训练公司“空中保镖”棋高一着，提出可以使用老鹰来捕猎无人机。
Guard From Above claims to be the first company in the world to use birds of prey to intercept hostile drones. They’re now assisting the Dutch police force to create a fleet of police eagles that are trained to attack and snatch drones in mid-air using their strong talons. “The eagle sees the drone as its prey,” explained Sjoerd Hoogendoorn, who works for the company. “So he tries to take it to a safe location and guard it once he gets there.”
利用猛禽拦截恼人的无人机——空中保镖公司的理念可说是前无古人。目前，荷兰警方正与该公司合作，训练一群警鹰。这群“空中奇兵”将以利爪，猎捕横行半空 的无人机。空中保镖职员舍尔德•胡根道解释道：“这些警鹰视无人机为猎物，一旦捕获，就会飞到安全的地方，将其保护起来。”
The practicality of the idea is currently being tested – it’ll be a couple of months before they decide if it’s the best solution or not. Eagles are highly skilled at mid-air intercepts, so there isn’t much risk of the drone going out of control or falling on people. But with larger drones the safety of the birds could be a concern – their legs or talons might suffer some damage from large carbon fiber parts. To solve this problem, the company is also working on a protection system for the birds.
眼下，此方案仍处试验期。老鹰能否成为对付无人机的利器，数月之后方可见分晓。当然，老鹰是空中的捕猎高手，因此无需担心无人机失控或是砸伤人群。不过， 大型无人机却有可能伤害老鹰，无人机上的大块碳素纤维零件可能会刮伤鹰腿或鹰爪。空中保镖正着眼开发一套护具，以解决以上问题。
Meanwhile, the Dutch police are looking into other electronic solutions as well. But if the eagle program works out, it’ll be cool to have eagles hunting drones, provided the birds don’t get hurt, of course.
另一边，荷兰警方也在开发无人机电子拦截设备。不过，倘若试验中的警鹰能顺利拦截无人机，还不伤分毫的话，那就再酷炫不过了。
Vocabulary
raptor: 猛禽
talon: 爪