A “cute” primate so rare it was thought to be extinct has been caught on camera in the forests of Sri Lanka for the first time, scientists said Monday.
The Horton Plains slender loris is a small, nocturnal animal which can grow up to 17cm long with big, bulging eyes.
Endemic to Sri Lanka, it was first discovered in 1937 but had only been seen four times since then.
Scientists last caught a glimpse of the primate in 2002, and believed the elusive animal had since died out.
But field researchers, working with the Zoological Society of London, managed to track down the mysterious creature in the forests of central Sri Lanka.
In a world first, they were able to take pictures of an adult male slender loris sitting on a tree branch.
The field team was able to capture one of the creatures and give it a physical examination, the first time that has ever been done, before releasing it back into the wild.
But experts warned that deforestation in Sri Lanka — largely blamed on the drive to create tea plantations in the region — was now the biggest threat to the loris.
Craig Turner, a conservation biologist at the ZSL, said their natural forest habitat had been divided up for farming and logging use, cutting off the “very cute” animals from their partners.
“The forest has now been fragmented into a series of small islands,” Turner told BBC radio.
“They can’t move to one another, they can’t mate, breed, so it has real implications for the future persistence of the species.”(AFP)
科學家星期一表示,一隻原本稀有到大家以為絕種的「可愛」靈長類,最近在斯里蘭卡的森林裡第一次被鏡頭拍到。
霍頓平原懶猴是種體型嬌小的夜行性動物,有著又大又凸的雙眼,身長最長可達十七公分。
這種動物是斯里蘭卡特有種,於一九三七年首次被發現,自那之後只被看見四次。
科學家最近一次看到霍頓平原懶猴是在二00二年,他們相信從那時起,這種難以捉摸的動物已經絕種。
不過倫敦動物學院的野外研究員卻在斯里蘭卡中部的森林裡,成功追蹤到神秘動物的蹤跡。
他們是世界第一個拍到坐在樹枝上的成年公懶猴的研究團隊。
他們還史無前例地抓到一隻懶猴,幫牠做完全身檢查後再放回大自然。
但是專家們警告,斯里蘭卡砍伐森林──多半是為了在該區種植茶葉──如今已成為懶猴的最大威脅。
倫敦動物學院的保育生物學家克來格•透納表示,牠們的自然居住環境被農作區與伐木區分割開來,這些「很可愛」的動物因此被迫與同伴分離。
透納向英國廣播電臺表示:「森林現在已被切割成許多一小塊一小塊的小島。」
「牠們無法移到他處,也無法交配、生育,因此這對此物種未來的存續有絕對性的影響。」(法新社╱翻譯:吳岱璟)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You