43、（双语科普）学英语，看世界：“树上的大猫2”

Leopard

豹子

Leopards are extremely patient hunters and sometimes they can wait for several hours on end before pouncing on their prey（猎物）,

豹子是极有耐心的猎手，有时它们会一直等上几个小时才扑向猎物，

and they only deal out that final, lethal（致命的） blow when they are within a few meters of their targets, which range from small animals like rabbits to medium-to-large-sized herbivores like antelopes（羚羊） and zebras.

只有当它们离目标只有几米远的时候，它们才会发出致命的最后一击。目标范围是从兔子这样的小动物，到羚羊和斑马这样的大中型食草动物。

After a successful kill, you might assume that leopards would let their guard down to enjoy their hard-fought meal.

成功猎杀之后，你可能会认为豹子会放松警惕，享受这顿激烈战斗后得来的大餐。

Well, they don't, because smaller-sized carnivores（食肉动物） like hyenas（鬣狗） are probably lurking（潜伏） somewhere close, salivating over the ready-made（现成的） feast, poised to steal in.

它们不会这么做，因为像鬣狗这样的小型食肉动物可能就潜伏在附近的某个地方，对着现成的大餐垂涎三尺，随时准备偷偷溜过来。

Leopards have an ingenious way of safeguarding their catch from scavengers（食腐动物）.

豹子有一种巧妙的方法来保护它们捕获的猎物不被食腐动物吃掉。

Built with exceptionally strong muscles, they can drag their kill, sometimes weighing as much as 50kg, all the way up to their hideout in the trees, where they can finally partake（享受） in an uninterrupted dining experience.

它们有着异常强壮的肌肉，可以把甚至重达50公斤的猎物一直拖到它们在树上的藏身之处，在那里它们终于可以享受不受打搅的用餐体验。

Leopards' biggest nemeses（宿敌）, however, are not lions.

然而，豹子最大的敌人不是狮子。

Like many wildlife species, their biggest threats come from humans.

与许多野生动物一样，它们的最大威胁来自人类。

With immoral poachers（偷猎者） fixated on their dazzling coats, and human activities interfering with their lives, their habitat has shrunk by approximately 75%.

由于不道德的偷猎者对他们炫目的皮毛虎视眈眈，并且人类活动也干扰了他们的生活，它们的栖息地已经缩小了大约75%。

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