« 钱学森当年是受美国驱逐遣返大陆 | 首页 | 10月29日陕西省林业厅向央视记者展示华南虎胶卷及放大照片 »
星期六, 十一月 10, 2007
Science：稀有老虎照片在中国引起轩然大波
Rare-Tiger Photo Flap Makes Fur Fly in China
A few weeks ago, tiger researchers celebrated the news that a South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) had been spotted—and photographed—in the wilds of Shaanxi Province. But netizens in China and elsewhere have declared it only a “paper tiger”after scrutinizing the two available images.Although the species has been declared “functionally extinct,”reports of tiger activity in the heavily forested Qinba Mountains prompted Shaanxi officials to offer a reward to anyone able to photograph one of the tigers.
At a 12 October press conference in Xian, Zhou Zhenglong, a former hunter, told a rapt audience of his quest to photograph the beast,crawling to within 20 meters of one and snapping 71 images. When the camera's flash went off, the tiger roared and disappeared, he said.
Skeptics, citing factors such as the tiger’s tame-looking expression and unreal coat color—as well as the fact that the two photos portray exactly the same tiger but differently positioned foliage—think it’s more likely that someone planted a cardboard tiger in the bushes. Fu Dezhi, a botanist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adds that the plants are not to scale in relation to the tiger. Zhou, who was paid 20,000 yuan ($2666) for the images, says, “I guarantee with my head that the photographs are authentic.”
The Shaanxi Forestry Bureau is pushing ahead with plans for a thorough survey and a tiger reserve. “It’s tremendously exciting news, if it can be substantiated,” says tiger expert Gary Koehler of Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (Science, 7 September, p.1312). But first,“they need to look for hair snags or scat” for genetic verification.
参考译文：
稀有老虎照片在中国引起轩然大波
2007年11月9日译者：建设新农村
几周前，虎研究者们为华南虎在陕西野外被发现并拍照而欢呼。然而中国和别处的网民在仔细检查两张可获得的相片后宣称那只是一只“纸老虎”。
虽然这个物种已被宣布为“功能性灭绝”，但是树林茂密的秦巴山区老虎踪迹的报告仍然促使陕西官方为那些能够拍摄到某只老虎的人提供酬劳。
10月12日西安的一次记者招待会上，曾经是猎人的周正龙向聚精会神的听众描绘了自己匍匐爬行直至离这种野兽20米并且连拍71张相片的经过。他说当他的相机闪光灯闪起时，老虎吼叫着消失了。
怀疑论者认为这更可能是某人吧纸板做的老虎放在矮树丛中。他们引用的例证有老虎表情驯服、皮毛颜色不真实，以及一个事实：两张相片中描绘的植物位置不同但老虎完全相同。中科院植物学家傅德志补充说和老虎相比植物的比例不对。因拍摄老虎而获利20000元（2666美金）的周说：“我用人头担保照片是可信的。”
陕西林业局正在推动一些全面考察和确定老虎数量的计划。“这是很让人兴奋的新闻--如果它可以证实的话，”华盛顿州渔业与野生动植物部虎专家Gary Koehler说，(Science, 7 September, p. 1312)，但是首先“他们应该去寻找碎毛发和排泄物”以做遗传学上的确证。
转载自：http://club.cat898.com/newbbs/dispbbs.asp?boardid=1&star=3&replyid=21854789&id=1923355&skin=0&page=1
23:25 发表在 华南虎事件 | 查看全文 | 评论 (0)