中英對照讀新聞》Japanese island eradicates rabbit-killing mongoose 日本島嶼成功根除危害兔子的獴
日本奄美大島「獴禍」終結，瀕危兔子重獲新生。（法新社）
◎陳成良
Japan has wiped out all mongooses on a subtropical island, officials said, after the animals ignored the venomous snakes they were brought in to hunt and preyed on endangered local rabbits instead.
日本官員宣布，他們已經在1座亞熱帶島嶼上徹底清除所有的獴。這些獴原本被引進島上是為了獵捕毒蛇，但牠們卻無視毒蛇存在，反而將瀕危的當地兔子當成獵物。
About 30 of the venom-resistant predators were released on Amami Oshima, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in the late 1970s to keep down the population of habu, a pit viper whose bite can be deadly to humans.
大約30隻具有抗毒性的獴，在1970年代末被引入奄美大島——1處聯合國教科文組織世界遺產地。引入獴的目的，是為了控制當地名為「哈布」的蝮蛇數量，這種蛇的毒液可能致人於死。
However, the snakes are mostly active at night when mongooses prefer to sleep and the toothy mammals turned their ravenous appetites to local Amami rabbits, drastically reducing their numbers.
然而，這些蛇主要在夜間活動，恰好是獴偏好休息的時間。結果，這些長著尖牙的哺乳動物，將其貪婪的胃口轉向當地的奄美兔，導致兔子數量驟減。
新聞辭典
wipe out：片語，除去，徹底毀滅。例句：The tsunami has wiped out the entire coastal village.（這場海嘯徹底摧毀了整個沿海村莊。）
ravenous：形容詞，極度飢餓的、有強烈慾望的、貪婪的。例句：The corporation’s ravenous pursuit of profits led to unethical business practices.（該公司對利潤的貪婪追求，導致不道德的商業行為。）
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