来自阿根廷的神秘生物已在迪拜安家
📖 逐句对照翻译
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is known for its tall, modern buildings rising high above the desert.
阿拉伯联合酋长国的迪拜以其高耸于沙漠之上的现代化高楼而闻名。
But an unusual animal from Argentina, the Patagonian mara, can be found there, too.
但那里也能见到一种来自阿根廷的奇特动物——巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠。
The animal, like a rabbit, has long legs and ears and a body larger than most other rodents.
这种动物像兔子一样，有长长的腿和耳朵，体型比大多数其他啮齿动物都大。
They have been found near the Al Qudra Lakes, which are usually home to gazelle and other desert creatures found in the Emirates, or UAE.
它们是在库德拉湖附近被发现的，那里通常是瞪羚和其他阿联酋沙漠生物的栖息地。
How they got there remains a mystery.
他们如何到达那里仍然是个谜。
But in the UAE, exotic animals have ended up in the private homes and farms of the wealthy.
但在阿联酋，异国动物最终流入了富人的私人住宅和农场。
The UAE’s Climate Change and Environment Ministry and officials in Dubai did not answer questions from the Associated Press (AP) about the Patagonian maras.
阿联酋气候变化与环境部及迪拜官员未回应美联社关于巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠的提问。
But one estimate suggests that as many as 200 could be thriving in the area of the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve nearby.
但有一项估计表明，附近阿尔马尔穆姆沙漠保护区内可能有高达200只正茁壮成长。
Few dead maras have been found.
发现的死亡长耳豚鼠很少。
An AP reporter found at least five maras on a recent visit to the Al Qudra Lakes, a wide desert area 40 kilometers south of Dubai.
一名美联社记者在最近访问阿尔库德拉湖时发现了至少五个黑帮组织。阿尔库德拉湖位于迪拜以南40公里处的一片广阔沙漠地带。
On another visit, the reporter saw several packs of the animals, including one mother still nursing a baby.
另一次探访时，记者看到了几群这种动物，其中一只母兽还在哺育幼崽。
Al Qudra is at the end of a long bicycle path.
阿尔库德拉位于一条长长的自行车道的尽头。
It is popular in the winter months.
它在冬季月份很受欢迎。
Campers and others come to enjoy the outdoors in the cooler weather among the area’s lakes.
露营者和其他人趁着天气转凉，来到该地区的湖泊之间享受户外风光。
Some of the lakes have been engineered into shapes like a moon, two hearts or as an advertisement for Dubai’s Expo 2020.
有些湖泊被设计成月亮、两颗心或迪拜2020年世博会的广告形状。
The Patagonian maras first appeared publicly in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠首次公开亮相是在2020年新冠疫情最严重的时候。
A request for information on their sightings was first published in an issue of the Dubai Natural History Group’s monthly newsletter.
一份关于他们目击情况的信息请求首次刊登在迪拜自然历史组织月度通讯的一期上。
Volunteers described seeing them in Al Qudra and on Saadiyat Island near the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi.
志愿者描述在阿尔库德拉和靠近阿联酋首都阿布扎比的萨迪亚特岛看到了它们。
“This large rodent is a common species in zoological collections and undoubtedly found its way out from captivity,” wrote Jacky Judas, who has long studied mammals in the UAE.
“这种大型啮齿动物是动物园收藏中的常见物种，无疑是从圈养环境中逃出来的，”长期在阿联酋研究哺乳动物的杰基·犹大写道。
“They can regularly be seen sleeping or eating grass in the middle of roundabouts at Al Qudra…it can possibly survive in highly modified habitats with tree plantations, lawns and ponds,” Judas wrote.
朱达斯写道：“人们经常可以看到它们在库德拉环岛中央睡觉或吃草……它或许能在有树植园、草坪和池塘的高度改造栖息地中生存。”
Those words describe the environment found at Al Qudra and are probably the reason for the maras’ continued survival.
这些词语描述了阿尔库德拉的环境，可能正是马拉能够继续生存的原因。
But temperatures in the UAE regularly reach 45 degrees Celsius in the summer, making it a difficult environment.
但阿联酋夏季气温经常达到45摄氏度，环境十分艰苦。
The number of maras at Al Qudra suggests that they are breeding.
库德拉的野兔数量表明它们正在繁殖。
Patagonian maras mate for life, and females can get pregnant only a few times a year.
巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠终身一夫一妻制，雌性一年只能怀孕几次。
They can give birth to one to three babies at a time.
它们一次可以生一到三个宝宝。
In Argentina, the animals can be hunted and eaten, their fur used for rugs and blankets.
在阿根廷，人们可以猎杀和食用这些动物，它们的皮毛可以用来制作地毯和毯子。
The Patagonian maras eat plants and are no threat to humans.
巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠吃植物，对人类没有威胁。
There are few animals that might hunt them at Al Qudra.
在阿尔库德拉，很少有动物会猎捕它们。
Arabian red fox do live and hunt in the area.
阿拉伯红狐确实在该地区生活和捕猎。
Patagonian maras normally live in central and southern Argentina.
巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠通常生活在阿根廷中部和南部。
But they have been trafficked into areas as exotic pets in the past.
但它们过去曾被贩卖到各地作为异域宠物。
In the United States, the appearance of one was covered by the local news in Denver, Colorado.
在美国，科罗拉多州丹佛市的当地新闻报道了其中一例的出现。
In August, a Patagonian mara was found in a car about to enter Turkey from Greece.
八月，一只巴塔哥尼亚豚鼠在一辆即将从希腊进入土耳其的汽车中被发现。
Officials discovered other animals in the suspected trafficking attempt.
官员在这起疑似贩运企图案中发现了其他动物。
It is illegal to keep endangered or threatened wildlife in the Emirates.
在阿联酋，饲养濒危或受威胁的野生动物是违法的。
But there have been many reports and social media videos of Emirati men in luxury cars with pet lions along for the ride.
但有许多报道和社交媒体视频显示，阿联酋男子开着豪车，带着宠物狮子一同出行。
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
我是小马里奥·里特。
Jon Gambrell reported this story for the Associated Press.
乔恩·甘布雷尔为美联社报道了这则新闻。
Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English.
小马里奥·里特为VOA英语学习频道改编了此文。
