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Australia's government-built A$36 billion broadband network, already under attack from underwhelmed customers, has found a new and formidable enemy - cockatoos are chewing through cables across the country.
澳大利亚政府花费360亿澳元建造的宽带网络本就已遭到不满客户的攻击，现又发现一个新的劲敌--凤头鹦鹉正在啃咬布设在全国各处的电缆。
Repairing the damage wrought on the broadband system, including replacing steel-braid wires that the pesky parrots have gnawed, has already cost A$80,000, network builder NBN said.
网络建设方NBN日前表示，修复宽带系统的损伤，包括更换令人讨厌的鹦鹉啃咬过的钢丝编织网，已经花费了8万澳元。
The company estimates the bill could rise sharply as more damage is uncovered and more cables are rolled out in the national telecommunications infrastructure project, which is not due to be completed until around 2021.
该公司估计，澳大利亚全国电信基础设施项目到2021年左右才能完成，随着项目推进时更多电缆被布设，更多损坏会被发现，维修账单可能会大幅上涨。
"They are constantly sharpening their beaks and as a result will attack and tear apart anything they come across," said NBN Co project manager Chedryian Bresland in a blog post on the company's website.
NBN公司的项目经理切德瑞恩·布雷斯兰在其公司官网上的一篇博文中写道：“这些鹦鹉不停地磨嘴喙，看到什么就攻击并啃咬。”
"Unfortunately, they've developed a liking to our cables ... these birds are unstoppable when in a swarm."
“很不幸，它们看上了我们的电缆，这些鸟成群而来的时候简直难以阻挡。”
"Cockatoos don't usually go for cables. But it might be the color or the position of the cables that's attracted them," said Gisela Kaplan, a professor in animal behavior at the University of New England.
新英格兰大学动物行为学教授吉塞拉·卡普兰表示：“通常来讲，凤头鹦鹉对电缆并不感兴趣。不过可能是电缆的颜色或位置吸引了它们。”
NBN is installing protective casing it says will protect the wires from birds in the future.
为了防止今后电缆再遭鸟类啃咬，NBN正在给电缆安装保护套。
