《中英對照讀新聞》Giraffe's jacket a creature comfort 長頸鹿的外套是一大享受

Like many a lady of a certain age, Tiki feels the cold these days. So workers at the Oakland Zoo are having a custom-fit coat made to keep the giraffe cozy this winter.

跟許多上了年紀的老太太一樣，提奇最近常常覺得冷。因此奧克蘭動物園的工作人員打算為她訂做一件外套，讓這隻長頸鹿在冬天裡也能感到舒適。

At age 18, venerable for giraffes, Tiki is subject to the vicissitudes of age. She already gets regular visits from a chiropractor, a masseuse and an acupuncturist. Those are accepted treatments for horses, and provide a gentle way to treat animals without drugs, said zoo keeper Melissa McCartney.

18歲對長頸鹿而言已屬高壽，提奇常受到歲月變遷的影響。她目前已有脊椎按摩師、按摩師及針灸師定期到園內探訪。動物園工作人員麥卡尼說，這些都是已被廣泛接受的馬匹療法，能夠在不用藥的情況下，提供動物溫和治療。

However, coping with the effect of Bay Area winter chills on the African mammal had baffled keepers. At 13 feet tall, Tiki is too big to be herded into a stall, and regular horse blankets are too ill-fitting to be left on without supervision lest she get in a tangle.

但要如何解決舊金山灣區的寒冬對這隻非洲哺乳動物的影響，卻讓園方傷透腦筋。提奇身高達13英尺，無法進入籠舍裡避寒，一般馬匹用的毛毯又不符提奇的身材，園方無法在無人監督的情況下讓她穿戴，免得她被毛毯困住。

The zoo staff got in touch with a horse-blanket designer who agreed to donate her services to tailor a coat for Tiki. To get precise measurements for the tailoring, McCartney had to scramble up a ladder. The result? A 40 extra, extra long.

園方工作人員最後連絡上一位馬匹毛毯設計師，她同意替提奇量身訂製一件外套。但為了要測量出精確的尺寸，麥卡尼得爬上梯子才辦得到。結果呢？40號特特長。