VOA新闻杂志--洛杉矶和孟买：两个有大型猫科动物的城市

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Mumbai, Los Angeles: Two Cities with Large Cats

Los Angeles, California, and Mumbai, India, are both famous for movies, clothing, and traffic. But the two large cities are similar in another way: large cats live in and around them.

Los Angeles and Mumbai are the world's only major cities where large cats— mountain lions in one, leopards² in the other — live. But Audra Huffmeyer, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, predicted, "In the future, there's going to be more cities like this, as urban areas further encroach on natural habitats."

Los Angeles

Twenty years ago, scientists in Los Angeles placed a tracking collar on a large male mountain lion that was from Santa Monica Mountains, an area next to the city. They named the big cat P1.

With GPS and camera traps, the scientists followed P1 for seven years. Seth Riley of the National Park Service was part of the effort. Riley said 2009 was the last time they learned³ about P1.

"There must have been a fight. We found his collar, blood on a rock. And never saw him again. He was reasonably old," Riley said.

Since then, Riley has helped put collars on around 100 more mountain lions in Los Angeles. The big cats in the Los Angeles area have not caused any human deaths but recorded one attack on a child in 2021.

The biggest threat to mountain lions turns out to be inbreeding – mating between members of the same family. Living in small territories separated by highways has caused some males to mate⁴ with daughters and granddaughters. That has led to genetic⁵ problems such as fertility⁶ issues and unusual tails.

Mumbai

In Mumbai, one of the world's most densely⁷ populated cities, about 50 leopards have lived in a space suited for 20. Yet the big cats keep mostly out of sight.

Vidya Athreya is the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in India. "Because these animals are so secretive, you don't know much about them. You can't just observe them," Athreya said.

The leopards' main area is centered around Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The protected area is surrounded on three sides by people, including an area that is home to 100,000 people and around ten leopards.

Leopards in Mumbai mainly hunted wild dogs that go to garbage dumps⁸ outside the forest. They mostly attacked people when cornered or attacked. But in 2010, 20 people in Mumbai died in leopard¹ attacks, said Jagannath Kamble, an official at Mumbai's protected forest.

How to deal with big cats?

Huffmeyer, who studies mountain lions, said, "If we want to keep these large carnivores around on the planet⁹, we have to learn to live with them."

Both cities have learned that trying to capture¹⁰, kill or move the cats away from their habitats is not the answer.

In Mumbai, officials involved volunteers, nongovernmental groups and the media in a public education program in 2011. Since then, deaths have dropped, and no one has been killed in a leopard attack since 2017.

In Los Angeles, research showing the harm caused by limited territories helped fuel a campaign to build a wildlife crossing bridge over U.S. Route 101, one of the city's busiest freeways.

The building began on April 22. When it is finished in three years, the bridge will be covered in native plants and include special sound walls to reduce light and noise for the passing animals. It will connect the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, enlarging¹¹ the area for mountain lions.

Beth Pratt, a California director at National Wildlife Federation¹², said, "Relocation and killing¹³ make conflict worse." Avoidance is the safest strategy¹⁴, she said.

"These big cats are shy — they tend to avoid human contact as much as they can. They're really extreme introverts¹⁶ of the animal kingdom."

Words in This Story

encroach -- v. to gradually take or begin to use or affect something that belongs to someone else or that someone else is using — usually + on or upon

habitat -- n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally¹⁷ lives or grows

track -- v. to follow and try to find (an animal) by looking for its tracks and other signs that show where it has gone

collar – n. a band of leather, plastic, etc., worn around an animal's neck

carnivore – n. an animal that eats meat

relocate - v. o move to a new place

shy -- adj. tending to avoid something because of nervousness, fear, dislike, etc.

introvert¹⁵ – n. a shy person : a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people

1 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

2 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 mate   

n.伙伴，同事；配偶；大副；v.(使)交配

参考例句：

• Where is the mate to this glove?这副手套的另一只在哪儿？
• She has been a faithful mate to him.她一直是他忠实的配偶。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 fertility   

n.肥沃；繁殖力

参考例句：

• A green manure is a crop grown mainly to improve soil fertility.种植绿肥作物主要是为使土壤更加肥沃。
• She is taking drugs to increase her fertility.她为了增强她的生殖能力而在服药。

7 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

8 dumps   

n.抑郁v.倾倒( dump的第三人称单数 )；丢下；随便堆放；释放

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It's no use letting yourself fall into the dumps. 你听任自己的情绪低沉下去一点用也没有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

10 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。

11 enlarging   

扩大( enlarge的现在分词 )； 扩展； 扩充； 放大

参考例句：

• I found the cheapest price for enlarging the photograph by ringing round all the photographic dealers. 我给所有的照相馆都打了电话，找到了放大照片要价最低的地方。
• He has decided to visit Japan with a view to enlarging his managerial know-how. 为了增进实际管理知识，他决定访问日本。

12 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 strategy   

n.方法，策略，战略

参考例句：

• The only way to take the enemy position is by strategy,not by forceful attack.只可智取，不可强攻。
• Tactics differs from strategy.战术有别于战略。

15 introvert   

n.性格内向的人

参考例句：

• You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
• The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。

16 introverts   

性格内向的人( introvert的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Extroverts tend to lack self-discipline while introverts lack courage. 性格外向的人缺乏自我约束力，而性格内向的人则缺乏勇气。
• I an introvert and introverts get drawn in. 我是个内向的人而且内向是天生的。

17 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。