Reclusive, gentle and quick to roll up into a ball, pangolins keep a low profile. But they are also the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal, and experts have been ringing alarm bells over their survival.
More than a million pangolins are believed to have been poached from the wild in the past decade. Most are used to supply demand in China, where pangolin scales are believed to cure conditions from headaches and menstrual cramps to nose bleeding and lack of virility.
There are four species of pangolin in Africa and another four in Asia. Watchdogs say those in Asia are being eaten to extinction, while populations in Africa are declining fast.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
照片：台北市動物園提供
In Taiwan, the Formosan pangolin, a subspecies native to the island, has been greatly reduced due to loss of habitat and poaching, despite being listed as a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Act since 1990. Experts warn that, if the situation does not improve, the Formosan pangolin may become extinct in ten years.
(AFP, additional reporting by Tu Yu-an)
穿山甲生性溫和，隱密低調，遇到危險即捲成球狀。然而，牠們卻是全球走私問題最嚴重的哺乳動物，為此，學者專家一再提出警告。
據了解，過去十年有超過一百萬隻野生穿山甲遭到盜獵，大部分流入中國，因其鱗片據說可以治療頭痛、經痛、流鼻血、甚至壯陽。
全球共有八種穿山甲，非洲及亞洲各有四種。保育團體指出，亞洲的穿山甲已經快被吃光，而非洲的穿山甲也急遽減少。
台灣穿山甲為本土特有亞種，雖自一九九○起列入野生動物保護法下的保育類動物，數量仍因盜獵及棲地減少而遽降。專家警告，若情況未見改善，台灣穿山甲可能會在十年內絕種。
(台北時報涂宇安編譯)
US President Donald Trump on Monday last week signed the TAKE IT DOWN ACT (Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act), bipartisan legislation that enacts stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called “revenge porn,” as well as deepfakes created by artificial intelligence. The measure, which goes into effect immediately, was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and later gained the support of First Lady Melania Trump. Critics of the measure, which addresses both real and artificial intelligence-generated imagery, say
Cats ruled in ancient Egypt—and not just in their own minds. These clever, graceful creatures were so deeply respected by the Egyptians that harming one could lead to severe punishment, even death. But why did the Egyptians hold cats in such high regard? It wasn’t just because they were cute; cats played a crucial role in protecting the country’s grain stores from pests. As guardians of Egypt’s food supply, they were seen as sacred animals. The Egyptians honored them through Bastet, the cat-headed goddess of protection, the home and fertility. Egyptians didn’t just love cats; they worshipped them. Cats lived in luxury,
A: Wanna go see a movie during the three-day weekend for the Dragon Boat Festival? B: Sure, I wanna see “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” A: Rumor has it that this may be actor Tom Cruise’s last mission with the Mission: Impossible action movie franchise. B: Tom was only 34 when the first installment of the series was released in 1996. Now, he’s 63 and the eighth installment is out. A: I hope he’ll stay with the series. Let’s go see him fight against AI this weekend. A: 端午節三天連假週末要不要去看電影？ B: 好啊我想看 《不可能的任務：最終清算》！ A: 這有可能是湯姆克魯斯最後一次為動作片《不可能》系列出任務。 B:
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Despite these advantages, there are still some challenges when it comes to housing data centers under the ocean. One problem is that they’re difficult to access for repair or replacement. __4__ This presents a significantly higher level of complexity than handling traditional land-based data centers. Another challenge is energy reliability. Many underwater data centers rely on offshore renewable energy sources, which can be unstable due to environmental factors. While underwater data centers offer exciting possibilities, overcoming the associated challenges is essential to realizing their full potential. 儘管有這些優勢，在海底安置資料中心仍存在一些難關。一個問題是難以進入水下資料中心進行修理或更換。這需要派人員到水下或將資料中心運送到維修站。這比處理傳統的陸上資料中心還要複雜許多。另一個難關是能源可靠性。許多水下資料中心依賴近海再生能源，而這些能源可能會因環境因素而不穩定。雖然水下資料中心提供了令人興奮的可能性，但要充分發揮其潛力，克服相關的難題是相當重要的。 What Did You Learn? (A) However, the expense of housing and maintaining the facilities
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