首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Most people think of lions as strictly African beasts, but only because they’ve been killed off almost everywhere else. Ten thou
Most people think of lions as strictly African beasts, but only because they’ve been killed off almost everywhere else. Ten thou
admin
2010-06-18
66
问题
Most people think of lions as strictly African beasts, but only because they’ve been killed off almost everywhere else. Ten thousand years ago lions spanned vast sections of the globe, and so did people, who--as they multiplied and organized—put pressure on competitors at the top of the food chain. Now lions hold only a small fraction of their former habitat, and Asiatic lions, a subspecies that split from African lions perhaps 100,000 years ago, hang on to an almost impossibly small slice of their former domain.
India is the proud steward of these 300 or so lions, which live primarily in a 560-square-mile (1,450-square-kilometer) sanctuary. It took me a year and a half to get a permit to explore the entire Gir Forest—and no time at all to see why these lions became symbols of royalty and greatness. A tiger will slink through the forest unseen, but a lion stands its ground, curious and unafraid—lionhearted. Though they told me in subtle ways when I got too close, Gir’s lions allowed me unique glimpses into their lives during my three months in the forest. It’s odd to think that they are threatened by extinction; Gir has as many lions as it can hold—too many, in fact. With territory in short supply, lions prowl the periphery of the forest and even leave it altogether, often clashing with people. That’s one reason India is creating a second sanctuary. There are other pressing reasons: outbreaks of disease or natural disasters. In 1994 canine distemper killed more than a third of Africa’ s Serengeti ]ions—a thousand animals—a fate that could easily befall Gir’s cats. These lions, saved by a prince at the turn of the 20th century, are especially vulnerable to disease because they descend from as few as a dozen individuals. "If you do a DNA fingerprint, Asiatic lions actually look like identical twins," says Stephen O’Brien, a geneticist who has studied them. Yet the perils are hidden, and you wouldn’t suspect them by watching these lords of the forest. The lions exude vitality, and no small measure of charm.
Though the gentle intimacy of play vanishes when it’s time to eat, meals in Gir are not necessarily frenzied affairs. For a mother and cub sharing a deer, or a young male relishing an antelope, there’s no need to fight for a cut of the kill. Prey animals are generally smaller in Gir than they are in Africa, and hunting groups tend to be smaller as well. The lions themselves aren’t as big as African lions, and they have shorter manes and a long fold of skin on their undersides that many lions in Africa don’t have.
Why are the lions in the Git Forest especially vulnerable to disease?
选项
A、They are physically weaker than the African lions.
B、They are small in size.
C、They do not have enough to eat.
D、They have descended from a dozen or so ancestors.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://www.kaotiyun.com/show/Y1lO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
IntheruinsofthePalmBeachHotelyougetapowerfulsensethataneraisdrawingtoaclosethatIsrael’sattempttosettle
InAustralia,reportsaboutAboriginalpeopleoftenmakefordepressingreading.Justafewdaysago,thelatestofficialreport
ThewelfareofchildrenisapriorityfortheUN.In【B1】______Europeand【B2】______Asiatheresearchisfocussingonthosekept
InearlyJune,theOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD)—thecluboftheworld’swealthyandalmostwealt
Howisurbanizationnegativelyaffectingoursociety?Theanswertothisquestionisnotasimpleone.Urbanism【C1】______,polit
Howisurbanizationnegativelyaffectingoursociety?Theanswertothisquestionisnotasimpleone.Urbanism【C1】______,polit
WhatdoesChicagomayormeanbysayingthat"...youaresupposedtojust,onyourown,turnthataround."(para.4)?Britain
Homosapienswerenotalwayssospecial.Intheancientpast,otherhumanformslivedbesideus.TheNeanderthalsinEurasia.Sm
A、Biganimalsusuallycouldnotsurvivelittleonesinmajorextinctions.B、Itisabadthingthatwehumanshavebroughtanimal
WhichisthelargestfreshwaterlakeintheUnitedStates?
随机试题
设有n元实二次型f(x1,x2,…,xn)=(x1+a1x2)2+(x2+a2x3)2+…+(xn-1+an-1xn)2+(xn+anx1)2,其中ai(i=1,2,…,n)为实数,试问:当a1,a2,…,an满足何种条件时,二次型f(x1,x2,…,xn
乳腺纤维腺瘤的中医命名是
风湿性心脏病常导致的脑血管疾病是高血压及动脉硬化常导致的脑血管病变是
石先生,男,56岁,患尿毒症,精神萎靡。下腹无胀满,24小时尿量为60ml。病人的排尿状况属于
房地产经纪信息计算机管理系统的主要类型不包括:()。
两偏振片堆叠在一起,一束自然光垂直入射其上时没有光线通过,当其中一偏振片慢慢转动180°时,则透射光强度发生的变化为:
全国银行间债券市场质押式回购期限最长为()。
环境是一个复杂的大系统。一旦发生问题,再来治理,非但费事、费时、劳民伤财,而且,有些环境问题难以___________,甚至是不可逆转。因而,“先发展,后治理”的观点不仅是___________的,而且是危险的。依次填入画横线部分最恰当的一项是(
I’mratheranxious______her,forIhaven’theardfromherforalongtime.
RisingPricesCauseHouse"Apartheid"涨价导致房屋的“种族隔离”TheGovernmenthasadmittedthatsoaringhouse
最新回复
(
0
)