One of the world's most elusive predators has finally stepped into the limelight.
High on the Tibetan Plateau, the body heat of a rare Chinese mountain cat recently reached a remote sensor, triggering an automated research camera.
The images—the first pictures of the mountain cat taken in the wild—may finally reveal some of the secretive habits that have kept the creature a mystery for nearly a century.
Jim Sanderson, a cat specialist with the Wildlife Conservation Network, worked with a group of Tibetan assistants to set the camera trap near the village of Rongrah in a remote region of northeastern Sichuan Province in China (see map).
The team chose the location after hearing about sightings of the small, stocky cat by local villagers.
Amid photos of badgers and marmots, Sanderson's team eventually secured eight pictures of one of the world's least known felines.
The project was supported by the Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation for Animal Welfare and Conservation International-China.
"Pest" Control
The Chinese mountain cat had never really been researched in the wild, Sanderson said. No one knows its conservation status, although it is generally considered to be rare.
It was the last cat species to be described by biologists, who in 1892 misnamed it the "desert cat"—highlighting just how little was known about its habitat and distribution.
Recent surveys now suggest that the feline might be confined to the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
Although the Chinese government has created three wildlife reserves within the cat's present distribution, previous surveys found no cats in those areas.
The mountain cat is a solitary, mostly nocturnal hunter, listening for small mammals and birds moving under snow and earth.
Males and females meet only to mate—usually between January and February—and litters of two to four kittens are born the following May in underground dens.
The mountain cat's long, dense coat and thick underfur protect it from the fierce Tibetan snowstorms.
But the cat's defenses don't deter local hunters, who defy its protected status by selling pelts to fur traders for hats, accessories, and tourist curios.
The cat is also a victim of widespread "pest" poisoning campaigns aimed at its staple prey, a rabbitlike animal called the pika, which many Chinese farmers consider unwanted competition for grazing.
In 2002 scientists had called for the mountain cat's protection status to be elevated to the highest national and international ratings.
The outcry was prompted by a government announcement to conduct a five-year program of rodent poisoning in about 17.8 million acres (7.2 million hectares) of alpine meadow in the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu as well as in Tibet.
The Next Panda?
Luke Hunter, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Great Cats Program, which donated the camera trap that took the images, called the photos of the wild mountain cat "a tremendous achievement."
"One of the key challenges in conserving such poorly known carnivores is simply creating awareness," Hunter said.
"So few people even know of their existence that mounting a conservation effort can be huge challenge. I hope these wonderful pictures help to overcome that obstacle."
Sanderson agrees that the cat would benefit from increased awareness. The poorly understood animal should be considered every bit as uniquely Chinese as its more famous neighbor the giant panda, he said.
"Pandas go for a million [U.S.] dollars a year to rent and are very well protected by Chinese law, but there is virtually no protection for this cat," he said.
"Until now, even cat specialists had only seen this animal as skins or in less than perfect shape in zoos. Hopefully someday soon we'll see billboards in China similar to those with pandas on them.
"Certainly, local people in Rongrah village have stopped killing the cat and are reporting their sightings to us," Sanderson added.
For example, he said, an assistant named Achu in charge of the project's remote cameras was a former wildlife hunter.
Unlike big cats, Sanderson continued, "there is very little attention on small cats. It is as if they were left for me to focus all my attention on"
Sanderson said that the new images are a reward for four years of effort looking for the mountain cat.
"If there's one thing the cats have taught me," he said, "it's patience."
译文:
首张中国猞猁照片揭晓
一种世界上最令人费解的肉食动物终于走进了人们的视线，成为了关注的中心。
在西藏高原的高海拔地区，一种配有遥感器设备的装置最近捕捉到了由它的体温发射出来的信息并随后启动了它具有自动搜寻功能的照相机进行拍摄。
这些图像—首次与野外拍摄到的猞猁照片可能由此揭开近一个世纪来这一富有神秘色彩生物一些不为人知的生活习性。
野生动物保护组织的猫科专家吉姆.桑德森与来自西藏的助手们一道在位于中国四川省东北部区域的rongrah村庄附近（见地图）安置了摄像设备。
他们选择在该位置安装设备是因为不断地收到当地村民对这一体形较少且矮胖的猫科动物的报告后而做出行动的。
在所拍摄到的獾和土拨鼠照片中，桑德森的研究小组终于发现了八张这一稀有的猫科动物照片。
该项目是由为中国—世界动物提供福利和保护的RBF基金组织赞助的。
"虫害"控制
在野外，还从没发现过猞猁的踪迹。桑德森说。虽然它被广泛的认为是一种稀有的动物但是没有人知道它们的生存状况。
生物学家认为它们可能是最新的一种猫科动物，在1892年的时候给它起了一个错误的名字"沙漠之猫" 而对它的生活习性与可能分布的栖息地讲述的很少。
最近的调查显示：它们可能活动在西藏高原的东北部区域。
尽管中国政府已经在它们可能分布的区域建立了3个自然保护区，但是以往对这些区域所进行的调查并没有发现它们的踪迹。
猞猁是一种喜独居且好夜间出来活动的肉食动物，它们通过对小型哺乳动物和鸟类在雪与地表下行动发出声音的分辩来进行捕食。
雄性猞猁和雌性猞猁通常只在发情期在相聚在一起：时间是在一月与二月之间，在随后的五月就会在它们的巢穴里产下两至四个小幼崽。
猞猁身上长而密且厚的体毛使得它们能在西藏高原里严酷的暴风雪环境中生存下来。
但是它们的这种防御本能丝毫不能不阻止当地猞猁保护意识淡薄的狩猎者对它们所进行的捕杀。他们不断向皮货商出售猞猁的毛皮用来制作帽子、衣物上的配饰、以及旅游者们喜爱的珍玩。
它同时也是人类对其主要吃食的动物：一种形似兔子的鼠兔科动物所进行的广泛范围内毒杀活动的受害者，许多的农牧们认为这种鼠兔科动物加剧了牧场生态系统的恶性竞争。
在2002年的时候，科学家们就曾呼吁对猞猁的保护力度应提升至国家和国际的最高的地位。
这一呼吁立刻促使政府宣布一项通告：计划用五年的时间扫除掉生存在青海、四川、甘肃及西藏省区占地共1780万英亩（ 720万公顷）高山草甸里的啮齿目动物。
下一个大熊猫？
野生动物保护协会的大猫科研究所主任卢克.亨特（捐赠了摄相机设备）被称所拍摄到的照片是他们所取得的"最大的成就" 。
"而对这种世人知之甚少的肉食动物的保护所面临的巨大挑战是如何提高人们对它的保护意识 "亨特说。
" 伴随着如此少的人对它的知情要加大保护的力度就显得困难重重，我希望这些珍贵的照片在克服这一问题上能起到帮助性的作用" 。
桑德森认为随着人们的保护意识增强猞猁定会从中受益，同时它应该与世界闻名的大熊猫一样被例为国家一级保护动物。他说。
"大熊猫每年因向海外出租能获得去100万美元的收益并受到中国法律很好的保护，但是对与猞猁几乎没有采取过任何的保护措施 "他说。
"到现在为止，即便是猫科专家也只能在动物园有幸扫上它一眼，我们希望的是在不久将来在中国的各种布告牌上能看到人们能向对大熊猫那样对猞猁进行宣传。
"当然，当地群众在已经停止对猞猁进行捕杀并不断有人向我们报告它的情况"桑德森补充说道。
例如，负责该项目遥控摄像机的一名叫做阿楚的助理以前也是位野生动物的狩猎者。
与大型猫科动物不一样的是，桑德森继续说： "很少有人关注小型猫科动物，好象是它们被留下来让我去进行全神的关注。
所拍摄的照片是对我们四年来搜寻猞猁的一种奖励。桑德森说。
"如果说猞猁的发现使我领悟到什么的话，那就是做事的时候需要耐心" 他说。