新奇事件簿 科学家发现新物种猫狐（在线收听）

Wildlife experts have discovered an unusual animal that they believe could be a new species. The animal was found on the French island of Corsica. The experts showed reporters a "cat-fox" that they had captured in the mountains of Corsica. The experts said they found a group of sixteen cat-foxes in a remote area of Corsica. The captured cat-fox measured nearly 90 centimeters in length from head to tail. The creature has very wide ears, short whiskers and a thick coat. It also has stripes on its front legs. Gilles Simeoni, a local government official, thanked the wildlife team for finding the cat-fox. He said: "It's a wonderful discovery." He added that Corsica was a "paradise of animal and plant biodiversity".

野生动物专家发现了一种不寻常的动物，他们认为这可能是一种新物种。这种动物是在法国科西嘉岛发现的。专家们向记者展示了他们在科西嘉山区捕获的一只“猫狐”。专家们表示他们在科西嘉岛的一个偏远地区发现了一群16只猫狐。被抓住的那只猫狐从头到尾总长近90厘米。这种生物长着非常宽大的耳朵、短胡须和厚皮毛，前腿上还有条纹。本地政府官员吉尔·斯莫尼感谢野生动物团队发现了这些猫狐。他称：“这是一个奇妙的发现。”他补充道科西嘉岛是一个“动植物多样性的天堂”。

The cat-fox has been talked about by local people in Corsica for decades. It had become a mythical creature with farmers, who tell stories about seeing it. Corsicans are now happy and proud that their island is home to a new species of animal. Scientists believe that the cat comes from a little-known species that could have originated in Africa and the Middle East thousands of years ago. It is largely a nocturnal animal. One scientist said the cat-fox could have been brought to Corsica as far back as 6500BC. Another scientist said: "By looking at its DNA, we could tell it apart from the European wildcat. It's close to the African forest cat, but its exact identity is still to be determined."

科西嘉岛的当地居民几十年来一直在谈论猫狐。在见过猫狐的农民们的心目中，它已成为一种神秘的动物，他们讲述这它的故事。科西嘉岛人现在很开心也很自豪，他们的岛是这一新物种的家园。科学家认为这种猫来自于一个鲜为人知的物种，它们可能起源于数千年前的非洲和中东。这一物种大部分都是夜行动物。一名科学家表示猫狐可能是在公元前6500被引入科西嘉岛的。另一名科学家称：“通过调查它们的DNA，我们可以把它和欧洲野猫区分开来。它和非洲森林猫很相近，但其确切的身份仍有待确定。”