A Puma at Large

 

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.However as the evidence began to accumulate,experts from the Zoo feltobliged to investigate,for the descriptions given by people who claimed to hace seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.

 

The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a l arge cat'only five yards away from her . It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts comfirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.The search proved difficult,for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at anothe place twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went,it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small amimals like rabbits.Pawprints were seen in a number of places an 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.The experts were now fully convinced that the animal mas 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.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 quiet countryside.

 

一只逃遁的山狮

 

美洲狮是一种身形似猫的大动物，产于美洲。当有关在伦敦南面四十五英里处看到一只美洲狮的报告送到伦敦动物园时，这些报告没有受到重视。然而，当证据日趋增多时，应 动物园的专家们感到有必要进行调查，因为声称目击这只美洲狮的人们所描述的情况竟出奇地相似。

 

捕捉这只美洲的行动是从一个小村子开始的，在那里有位有位采草莓的妇女曾看到一只“大山猫”离她只有五码远。她刚瞥见它，它就跑了。专家们证实说，美洲狮除非被逼得走投无路，一般是不攻击人的。搜捕工作 证明是困难的，因为这只美洲狮经常是早晨在一个地方被看到，而晚上又出现在二十英里以外的另一个地方了。它所经之处，总留下死鹿和象兔子这样的小动物的残骸。人们在许多地方可看到爪印，并可发现美洲狮的皮毛粘附在一棵树上。至此，专家们完全相信这只动物 是一只动物蛤一只美洲狮。可是，它是从哪里来的呢？由于全国没有一个动物园报告过丢失了美洲狮，这只美洲狮谅必是私人豢养的，并且不知怎么跑出来了。捕捉工作 进行了几个星期，但并未逮到这只美洲狮。每当想到 一只危险的野生动物在平静的乡村里无管束地游荡，焦虑不安之情便 油然而生。