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
31
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; Git has as many lions as it can hold—too many, in fact. With territory in short supply, lions prow] 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 lions—thousand animals—a fate that could easily befall Girts 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 Git 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 Gir 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://kaotiyun.com/show/D3lO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Pardonme:howareyourmanners?1Thedeclineofcivilityandgoodmannersmaybeworryingpeoplemorethancrime,accordi
InJapanesetheworddepatoreferstoDuringtheMeijieradepatowasregardedbyJapanesecustomersasa(n)______shoppingp
MsBrendaStevenssuggeststhatbeforeapplyingjobapplicantsshouldThesuggestionsofferedbytheheadteacherare
WeatherSeverewinterweatherduringthefirstthreeweeksofJanuarycausedhundredsofdeathsinEurope.Amassivedomeo
ThewritersuggeststhatthereisnosenseinbuyingthelatestvolumeTheauthorquotedafewentriesinthelastparagraphto
ForaCEOtobesuccessfulingovernment,hehastoAccordingtothepassage,thedifferencesbetweengovernmentandbusinessl
Marriagemaybeaboutlove,butdivorceisabusiness.Forglobalcouples--bornindifferentcountries,marriedinathird,now
MarkRothkoemigratedtotheUnitedStates______.Rothkothoughtthatmodernart______.
RobertCongel,acommercialreal-estatedeveloperwholivesinupstateNewYork,hasaplanto"changetheworld."Convincedtha
TheidealseasonforplantingthecropinthemainfieldisJuly-AugustorNovember-December.Plantingisdoneonraisedbedsof
随机试题
咨询项目中常用的调查方法有哪些?各自的内涵是什么?
护理重度营养不良患儿,应特别注意观察可能发生
[2011年第95题,2007年第109题]等电位联结的作用是:
根据《建筑法》规定,大型建筑工程或者结构复杂的建筑工程,可以由两个以上的承包单位联合共同承包。共同承包的各方对承包合同的履行承担()。
对无固定经营场所或财务制度不健全的纳税人需要发票的,可()。
根据支付结算法律制度的规定,下列关于票据填写要求的表述中,不正确的是()。
大强度运动时肾脏的血液供应表现为()。
效率工资理论(2016年中央财经大学803经济学综合)
关于我国刑法溯及力的适用,下列表述中正确的是
Idon’tthinkitadvisablematTim______assignedtothejobsincehehasnoexperience.
最新回复
(
0
)