A puma at large(L1)

Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
美洲狮是一种大型的，体态似猫的动物，产于美洲。当伦敦动物园接到报告说，在伦敦南部45里的地方发现了一只野生美洲豹时，他们并没有当真。

However. at the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinary similar.
然而，随着证据越来越多，动物园的专家们觉得他们有义务去调查一下。因为凡是声称见过这匹美洲狮的人们的描述的情况，竟然都出奇地相似。
PS: feel obliged to do sth: 觉得有义务去做某事

The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only 5 yards away from her.
搜寻美洲豹的工作从一个小村子里开始，有位妇女在采摘黑莓的时候，发现有一只‘大猫’离她仅5码之遥。

It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
这只‘大猫’看到这位妇女立马跑掉了，于是专家们确认了美洲狮不会主动攻击人类，除非它们被逼到角落，走投无路。
PS: it is corned: corned 做形容词，被逼到角落，走投无路的意思。

The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
实际上搜集工作很困难，因为美洲狮总是在在早晨被发现于某个地方但是在晚上就被发现于20英里外的另一个地方。无论它到哪里，一路上总会留下死鹿和死小动物的痕迹，例如死兔子。
PS： a trail of ...： ...的痕迹

Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes. Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
在许多地方看到了脚印，灌木丛中也发现了黏在上面的美洲狮的毛发。许多人抱怨在夜里听到了‘类似猫叫的噪声’，一位商人去钓鱼，看到那只美洲狮呆在树上。

The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from? As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
专家们现在确认了，这就是一只美洲狮，但是它是从哪里来的呢？因为没有报道说明国家任何一家动物园有走失过美洲狮，所以这只美洲狮一定是属于某位私人收藏家所有，不知怎的设法跑出来了。
PS：这里如果没把manage to do翻译出来，就很不准确了。
PS++: manage to do, 设法做成某件事。

The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quite countryside.
搜寻工作持续了几周，美洲狮仍没有找到。想到在宁静的乡村有这么一只野生的动物在逃，真叫人担心。
PS: at large是在逃的意思。