南非拍摄到罕见“草莓”豹
南非拍摄到罕见“草莓”豹
A couple captured stunning images of a rare “strawberry” leopard feasting on a dead giraffe at a South African game reserve.
一对夫妇在南非野生动物保护区，拍到一只罕见的“草莓”豹正在享用一只死去的长颈鹿上的惊人画面。
Images of the leopard, named for its red coat, were caught on a motion-sensitive camera set up by Alan Watson, 45, and his wife, Lynsey, 41, at the Thaba Tholo Wilderness Reserve in late July. The pair pinned the camera to a tree located near a dead giraffe — which was killed following an “intense” thunderstorm, per the UK-based outlet SWNS — in the hopes of capturing images of scavengers coming for their next meal.
今年7月底，45岁的艾伦·沃森和41岁的妻子林西在塔巴托洛野生动物保护区安装了一架动作感应相机，捕捉到了这只美洲豹的照片。这对情侣把相机固定在一棵靠近长颈鹿尸体的树上，希望捕捉到食腐动物来吃下一顿饭的画面。长颈鹿因一场“强烈”的雷暴而死。
Black Leopard Mountain Lodge/SWNS
The pictures are reportedly the first of a “strawberry” leopard eating in the wild, according to the Daily Mail.
据英国《每日邮报》报道，这张照片是第一次拍到野外用餐的美洲草莓豹。
“We thought we might get photos of blades of grass,” Alan told SWNS, explaining the shock of capturing the unusual creature on camera.
“我们原认为我们可能只会拍到草叶的照片。”艾伦告诉媒体，并描述了当在相机上捕捉到这种不寻常生物时的震惊。
“As far as I know, this is the rarest color of leopard in the world. We hope she will bring new people to the lodge,” added Alan, owner of the Black Leopard Mountain Lodge located in the reserve.
“据我所知，这是世界上最稀有的豹纹颜色。我们希望她能把新人带到这里来。”位于保护区的黑豹山小屋的主人艾伦补充说。
“A lot of people who come to spot wildlife in the area go away disappointed not to have seen a leopard. They are so well camouflaged and incredibly elusive. Even these ones, if they were going through the long grass, you wouldn’t see them,” he continued. “If she doesn’t want to be seen, you aren’t going to see her.”
“很多来这里观察野生动物的人都因没看到豹而失望的离开了。它们伪装得很好，而且极其难以捉摸。即使是它们，如果它们穿过长草，你也看不到它们，”他继续说。“如果她不想被人看见，你就不会看到她。”
Black Leopard Mountain Lodge/SWNS
The “strawberry” leopard was reportedly first discovered in 2012 when one was spotted near the border of Botswana, according to SWNS.
据SWNS报道，这只“草莓”豹最早是在2012年在博茨瓦纳边境附近发现的。
The cats are likely pink because of a genetic mutation called erythrism. The mutation, according to a 2013 National Geographic blog post, is caused by a recessive gene “similar to that which affects albino animals.”
这只“草莓”豹可能是粉红色的，基于一种叫做赤藓病的基因突变。根据2013年国家地理博客的一篇文章，这种变异是由一种“类似于白化病动物的隐性基因”引起的。
In this case, however, the mutation results when the animal overproduces red pigments or underproduces dark pigments.
在这种情况下，当动物产生过多的红色色素或产生不足的黑色色素时，就会产生突变。
