VOA慢速英语2020--象鼩时隔50年重现非洲

Mouse-sized Elephant Shrew Rediscovered in Africa

Scientists say they have rediscovered in Africa a small creature related to the elephant that disappeared about 50 years ago.

The mouse-sized animal, called the Somali sengi, is also known as an elephant-shrew. It is distantly related to elephants, aardvarks and manatees¹.

Researchers say sightings of the Somali sengi species had not been reported for at least 50 years.

But a search team led last year by international wildlife experts found that the animals were alive and well in the small East African country of Djibouti. The team recently reported its results in the publication PeerJ.

Although the species was only known to live in Somalia, the researchers had received information that it might also be in Djibouti.

Scientists thought the Somali sengi had disappeared in the 1970s. There are only 39 individual specimens³ held in natural history museums around the world. Those individuals were the only physical evidence that the animal had ever existed.

The Global Wildlife Conservation group had included the Somali sengi on its "25 most wanted lost species" list.

Houssein Rayaleh is with the Association Djibouti Nature. He helped lead the search operation. In Djibouti, he said they met local people who were able to identify the animal from pictures.

Rayaleh said he too had seen sengis during his 21 years of doing fieldwork in the country. But he and other researchers could never make an official identification. "Without formal documentation, the species of the sengis in Djibouti was unknown," he told the French news agency AFP.

The team set up more than 1,250 traps filled with peanut butter, oatmeal and yeast⁴ in 12 places. The researchers reported they caught a Somali sengi in the first trap they set.

"It was amazing," said Steven Heritage, a researcher with Duke University's Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina. "When we opened the first trap and saw the little tuft of hair on the tip of its tail, we just looked at one another and couldn't believe it."

Heritage noted⁵ that a number of small mammal searches since the 1970s had failed to find the Somali sengi in Djibouti. "It was serendipitous⁶ that it happened so quickly for us," he said.

For Rayaleh, the find was not all that surprising. "For us living in Djibouti, and by extension the Horn of Africa, we never considered the sengis to be ‘lost,'" he said. "But this new research does bring the Somali sengi back into the scientific community, which we value."

The team also included global elephant shrew expert Galen Rathburn, who had studied the creatures for many years. But Heritage said Rathburn had never before seen a live Somali sengi.

"So when he opened the first trap and looked over at me, and he had seen the cute tufted furry⁷ tail of the animal, he looked at me and said 'I can't believe it, I've never seen one before,'" Heritage told AFP. Rathburn died of cancer shortly after the trip.

The researchers collected 12 specimens of the animal. They said their study proves that the Somali sengi "is currently extant" and lives far beyond the boundaries of Somalia.

The team is planning a new search to learn more about the species, which it believes could be living across Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

The researchers are not able to estimate the size of the population, but they believe the animals are doing well. "All the local people knew about this, so it could not be rare in any way," Heritage said.

Finding a large, living population differs greatly from most organized rescue attempts involving endangered species, said Robin⁸ Moore of Global Wildlife Conservation. "Usually when we rediscover lost species, we find just one or two individuals," she said.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can reproduce

specimen² – n. an animal or plant that is collected as an example of its kind

museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (such as paintings and sculptures or scientific or historical objects) are collected and shown to the public

formal – adj. done officially in keeping with rules

amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder

tuft – n. a small group of hair or similar thing that grows closely together

mammal – n. an animal with fur that feeds its young milk

serendipitous – n. the luck that happens when a useful or good thing is found without looking for it

global – adj. of, relating to, or involving the entire world

extant – adj. in existence, still alive

1 manatees   

n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
• Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网

2 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

3 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 serendipitous   

adj.偶然发现的

参考例句：

• There was a serendipitous second advantage working with a library of equations. 利用方程库有个意外收获的附带好处。 来自互联网
• Strategic networking prepares us for serendipitous moments. 战略性人际交往让我们为不时之需做好准备。 来自互联网

7 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

8 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。