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Tasmanian lust 袋獾增產抗怪疾

Two Tasmanian devils in captivity as part of a breeding project at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park in Taranna, Australia, on May 2, 2007. 去年五月二日，澳洲塔拉那袋獾保育公園圈養的兩隻參與繁殖計畫的袋獾。 照片：法新社 PHOTO: AFP

Australia’s iconic Tasmanian devil has extended its breeding season to last all year since the advent of a deadly disease that threatens to wipe out the species, a researcher said last week.

Wildlife biologist David Pemberton said the finding appeared to be linked to recent research showing that the animals were also having sex younger since the disease appeared.

The illness, which causes facial tumors, is spread by contact between the animals and usually kills them within three to six months. As a result they are generally living for only two years compared to six in the past, he said.

But researchers had also found that their young were being born throughout the year, which appeared to be a way the species was compensating for its low population density.

Pemberton said that in the past, mating was restricted to a three-week period around March and April, the southern autumn.

“Where the population has decreased dramatically there is extended breeding,” he said, saying it appears to have extended the period during which the female can reproduce.

“With a low population at least if a ‘girl’ cycles now it appears that a ‘boy’ will find her.”

The facial tumors are spread through biting. Since the disease was first observed in 1996, there has been a sharp decline in sightings of the devil across Tasmania.

The species is restricted to the island state after competition from the dingo led to its extinction on mainland Australia.

It is Australia’s largest marsupial carnivore after the extinction last century of its distant cousin, the Tasmanian tiger.

Early European settlers named the feisty marsupial the devil for its spine-chilling screeches, dark appearance and reputed bad temper which, along with its steeltrap jaw, made it appear incredibly fierce.

(AFP)

一名研究人員上週表示，澳洲的代表性動物「塔斯馬尼亞魔鬼」（袋獾）自從一種讓牠們面臨滅種威脅的致命疾病出現後，繁殖期已延展為全年。

野生生物學家大衛．潘伯頓說，這個發現似乎和最近一項研究結果有關。該研究顯示，自從該疾病出現後，袋獾的交配年齡也隨之降低。

他說，這種疾病是透過袋獾相互接觸傳染，染病的袋獾臉部會出現腫瘤，並在三到六個月內死亡，這使得牠們的平均壽命從六年縮減到只剩兩年。

但研究人員也發現，一整年來不斷有小生命誕生，這似乎是袋獾彌補物種數量偏低的一種方法。

潘伯頓表示，過去袋獾只在三、四月間有三週的交配期，這段期間是南半球的秋天。

他說：「袋獾數量大幅減少的地區，繁殖期就延長。」而這似乎是要讓母袋獾生育。

「儘管有數量偏低的情況，現在至少『女孩』發情時，『男孩』會找到她。」

臉上的腫瘤是經由啃咬傳染，這種疾病最早在一九九六年被發現，自此塔斯馬尼亞島上能見到的袋獾就大幅減少。

和澳洲野犬的物種競爭導致袋獾在本島絕種後，就只有在塔斯馬尼亞島上才能見到牠們的蹤跡。

自從遠親袋狼在上個世紀絕種後，袋獾就成了澳洲體型最大的肉食性有袋動物。

早期來自歐洲的墾荒者，把這種有著令人毛骨悚然的刺耳尖叫聲、黑色皮毛及出名壞脾氣的好鬥有袋動物取名為「魔鬼」，再加上其大鋼牙，讓牠們看來格外兇猛。

（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字 1. advent n. 出現 (chu1 xian4) 例: Ever since the advent of the computer, it's been much easier to find information. (自電腦問世以來，搜尋資訊變得簡單多了。) 2. compensate v.i./v.t. 補償 (bu3 chang2) 例: How is the girl who hit your car going to compensate you? (撞壞你車子的那個女生要怎麼賠你？) 3. feisty adj. 好鬥的 (hao4 dou4 de5) 例: Gordon said he can't handle his feisty girlfriend. (高登說他應付不了他那個愛爭吵的女友。) 4. reputed adj. 馳名的 (chi2 ming2 de5) 例: He's reputed to be a great singer. (他是公認的唱將。)

SAY WHAT? 說說看 wipe out 徹底消滅 To wipe out something is to completely destroy it. For example: “Health officials and doctors have been working hard to try to wipe out polio,” or “The village we were in last summer was wiped out by the tsunami.” Another meaning of the phrase wipe out is to fall down. It’s usually used to describe someone who hits the ground pretty hard. For example: “My skiing lesson was going well until I wiped out and almost broke my tailbone.” 「wipe out something」的意思就是完全摧毀某事，例如：「衛生官員和醫生都一直致力於根治小兒麻痺症」或是「我們去年暑假住的那個村莊被海嘯徹底摧毀了」。 「wipe out」這個片語的另一個意思是「fall down」，常用來描述一個人重跌在地，例如：「在我摔了一大跤、差點跌斷尾椎前，滑雪課都很順利」。

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Sam: What are you doing? Larry: I’m getting ready for a big poker game. Sam: You’re going to gamble! I thought you gave that up. Larry: I did, but ever since I quit work I’ve been bored just sitting around at home. Sam: You should find something constructive to do with your time. After all, the devil finds work for idle hands. 山姆：你在做什麼？ 賴瑞：在準備挑戰一個撲克牌大賽。 山姆：你要去賭博！我以為你戒賭了。 賴瑞：我是啊，但辭職以後每天閒坐在家實在很無聊。 山姆：你應該把時間拿來做一些有建設性的事，畢竟遊手好閒容易去為非作歹。 the devil finds work for idle hands　小人閒居作歹事 The above idiom means that people who have little to do are likely to end up doing activities of questionable morality. For example: “Stay away from those kids at the park. They’ve got nothing to do, and the devil finds work for idle hands.” 上面這個片語的意思是，遊手好閒的人可能會做出不道德的勾當。例如：「離公園裡那些小孩遠一點，他們整天閒閒沒事做，小人閒居就會為非作歹」。

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