VOA慢速英语2016 科学家拍摄到神秘动物薮犬图片

Cameras Capture Pictures of Mysterious Bush Dog 科学家拍摄到神秘动物薮犬图片

Scientists say they have captured photographs of one of the most mysterious known animals: bush dogs.

科学家称捕捉到最神秘动物薮犬的图片。

Bush dogs live in Central and South America.  They are a rarely seen and threatened species. But the photos suggest they may be more common than scientists thought.

薮犬生活在中南美洲，是一种罕见的濒危物种，但图片表明它们可能比科学家所认为的要更常见。

Scientists used cameras that take photos in the forest when an animal passes by. Photos of the bush dogs were taken in wild areas of Panama. The traps can be found across the country from its Costa Rican border to its border with Colombia.

科学家在森林中使用一种能在动物经过时拍照的相机，他们在巴拿马野地里拍到了薮犬，从巴拿马与哥斯达黎加边境到与哥伦比亚接壤处各地都安置了这种设备。

Ricardo Moreno is a research associate for the Smithsonian Institution. He and a team of biologists from Yaguará, Panama are studying large, wild mammals in that country. He says, “The bush dog is one of the rarest species that we photograph.”

理查德·莫雷诺是史密森学会的研究助理，他和来自巴拿马亚瓜拉的一个生物学家团队在研究该国的大型野生哺乳动物，他说，“薮犬是我们拍摄到的最罕见物种之一。”

The researchers describe the animals as “short-legged and stubby, standing 1 only about a foot (30cm) tall at the shoulder.”

研究者们称这种动物“腿短而粗壮，站起来从脚到肩部的身长大约30厘米。”

Like other dogs, bush dogs hunt in packs of up to 10. They are known to communicate to each other using “high-pitched whines 3.” They eat mostly large forest rodents 5.

薮犬像狗一样10来个成群地捕食，据悉它们使用尖叫声来进行交流，主要以大型森林鼠类为食。

The bush dog is so elusive 6 that photos of the animal were made only 11 times over 32,000 camera days. That is the number of cameras multiplied by the days in operation.

薮犬行踪很神秘，所以在32000个拍照日里只拍到它们11次，拍照日是摄像机的数量乘以拍照的天数。

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says bush dog populations have dropped by up to 25 percent over the past 12 years. It is considered a “near-threatened” species.

国际自然保护联盟称过去12年间薮犬的数量减少了25%，已被视为是“接近濒危的”物种。

Humans do not hunt or directly threaten bush dogs. But, habitat loss is affecting their numbers. They live mainly in rainforests. Scientists think the animals may require large forest spaces to survive. It is estimated that Panama lost 15 percent of its rainforest from 1990 to 2010.

人类并不捕猎薮犬或直接威胁到它们，但栖息地的缩减在影响到其数量，它们主要生活在热带雨林。科学家认为这种动物可能需要广阔的森林空间才能存活，估计在1998年到2010年间巴拿马的热带雨林面积缩减了15%。

Words in This Story

pack - n. a group of usually wild animals that hunt together?

whine 2 - v. to make a high, crying sound?

rodent 4 - n. a small animal (such as a mouse, rat, squirrel, or beaver) that has sharp front teeth?

elusive - adj. hard to find or capture?

habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows