袋獾

有些人可能认为袋獾是虚构的生物，是由华纳兄弟创造的想象力丰富的动画“兔八哥”里的角色。

Some might think the Tasmanian devil is a fictional creature , cooked up by an imaginative animator for the Warner Bros. " Looney Tunes " shorts .

于科学家如何能够将这种传染性癌症的源头追踪到袋獾体内某个神经细胞的癌变，齐默感到非常惊异，他们原本以为这种传染病是由病毒引起的。

Zimmer marveled that scientists were able to trace this infectious cancer – which they originally thought was a virus – to a single nerve cell in one Tasmanian devil that had turned cancerous .

一些最初的调查结果显示，有数万只的袋獾因为感染上了一种名为“袋獾面部肿瘤”（DevilFacialTumorDisease）的疾病而死亡。

The results of the first investigative survey revealed that tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils had died from a disease now known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease .

但是去年12月，塔斯马尼亚大学和剑桥大学的科学家们联合发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》（ProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences）上的论文表示，袋獾还在传播另一种癌症，与前一种癌症的基因组成截然不同。

But in December , scientists at the Universities of Tasmania and Cambridge reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that Tasmanian devils are passing around another kind of cancer - genetically distinct from the first .

癌症初期，袋獾的面部生出肿瘤。

This cancer starts out as a tumor on their faces .

尽管可能比较难以引起人们的同情，但这种袋獾面部肿瘤疾病的确威胁到了这一物种的生存，使它们濒临灭绝。

Though it may be hard to sympathize , devil facial tumor disease threatens the creatures with extinction .

他举了个例子，目前有一种罕见的癌症正在威胁濒危物种袋獾。

As an example , he described an unusual cancer that is spreading among endangered marsupials called Tasmanian devils .

袋獾因其恶臭、烦人的尖叫和吃腐肉时的邪恶而闻名。

Devils are known for their offensive odor , disturbing screeches and viciousness when they eat , mostly carrion .

同时，因为肿瘤会干扰到袋獾的进食，所以生病的袋獾通常会变得非常衰弱，这个时候，雌性的成年袋獾就很容易丧失它们的幼仔。

Sick devils also become emaciated , because the tumors interfere with eating , and many mothers lose their young .

这一举措将使袋獾受到人们的保护，从而免受其它危险因素（如因为水质污染或土地开发而使其栖息地遭到破坏等）的干扰。

Threatened status would give the devils protection from other perils , such as habitat destruction caused by water pollution or land development .

通过一个严重的伤口进入体内的另一只袋獾的细胞，可能会看似非常熟悉，以至被接收者的免疫系统忽略。

The cells of another devil injected through a vicious wound may seem so familiar that they are ignored by the recipient 's immune system .

得了这种怪病之后，袋獾会首先在嘴部周围出现毒瘤，然后肿瘤会慢慢扩散至颈部，有时候还会出现在身体的其它部位。

Devil Facial Tumour Disease causes cancers to appear first in and around the mouth before spreading down the neck and , sometimes , into the rest of the body .

第二种传染性癌症是在上世纪90年代中期发现于袋獾身上。它们在相互撕咬对方的脸时，会把恶性肿瘤细胞传给其他同类。

The second kind of contagious cancer was discovered in the mid-1990s in Tasmanian devils , which spread malignant cells as they try to tear off one another 's faces .

多年来，袋獾一直被一种神秘而致命的癌症所折磨。如今，这种大小似狗的哺乳动物寻找到了对策――早熟繁殖。

Tasmanian devils have for some years been plagued with a mysterious and lethal cancer . Now , the dog-sized mammals are fighting back : They are breeding at younger ages .

目前，在野外环境中发现了三种传染性癌症，分别发生在犬类、袋獾，以及砂海螂身上，后者是最近发现的。

And so far , three kinds of contagious cancers have been discovered in the wild - in dogs , Tasmanian devils and , most recently , in soft shell clams .

袋獾身材矮胖，棕黑色皮毛，白色的喉咙，两侧和背面有斑点，粉色的鼻子和一个巨大的头部和下颚。

The devil is a stocky animal with brownish-black fur , white throat patches and spots on its sides and backside , pink snout and a big powerful head and jaw .

虽然袋獾一起进食时声音很大众所周知，但与它对应的卡通形象相反，袋獾实际上是一种缓慢而低效的生物，而不是一个凶恶的生物。

Contrary to its cartoon counterpart , the actual Tasmanian devil is a slow , lumbering creature , not a frenetic whirlwind , though it is known to get loud and rowdy when eating in groups .

尽管它们声名狼藉，自然资源保护论者依然很担心此物种的存活，因为一种传染性面部肿瘤威胁着它们的生存，这种面部肿瘤在2000到2010年间曾导致60%的袋獾丧生。

And despite its fearsome reputation , conservationists are worried about the devils ' long-term survival , because they 're threatened by a contagious facial cancer that killed off 60 percent of the population between 2000 and 2010 .

袋獾的大小有很大差别，这取决于它们的饮食、生境和年龄，但男性可以能长到2.5英尺（80厘米），重达26磅（12公斤）。

The size of Tasmanian devils varies considerably , depending on diet , habitat and age , but large males can grow as long as 2.5 feet ( 80 centimeters ) and weigh as much as 26 pounds ( 12 kilograms ) .