One of the world's rarest animals, the saola, known as the ''Asian unicorn'', has been sighted for the first time in more than a decade. However the animal died after been captured by villagers in a remote region of Laos.
日前，老撾一偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)的村民捉住了一頭蘇拉。蘇拉世界上最珍稀的動(dòng)物之一，人稱“亞洲獨(dú)角獸”(也有人譯作“麒麟”)，這是十多年以來人們首次發(fā)現(xiàn)它們的蹤跡。不過，這頭蘇拉在被捉住之后不久就死去了。

The critically endangered mammal, which is found in the mountains of Vietnam and Laos, was first discovered in 1992. The saola, which looks similar to the antelopes of North Africa, but is more closely related to wild cattle, is so elusive it has been likened to the unicorn, despite having two horns, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said.
這種瀕危哺乳動(dòng)物是人們1992年在越南和老撾的山區(qū)首次發(fā)現(xiàn)的。國(guó)際自然保護(hù)聯(lián)盟(IUCN)的工作人員說，蘇拉雖然長(zhǎng)得像北非羚羊，卻是野牛的近親，它行蹤不定，難以捉摸，因此被稱作“獨(dú)角獸”，盡管它其實(shí)有兩只角。

The animal is listed as critically endangered, with just a few hundred thought to exist in the wild. Conservationists said that with none in zoos and almost nothing known about how to keep them in captivity, if the species vanish in the wild they will be extinct.
這種動(dòng)物被列入了“極度瀕危物種”的名單，也就是說只有幾百頭蘇拉生活在野外。動(dòng)物保護(hù)者說，動(dòng)物園里沒有這種動(dòng)物，人們也幾乎不知道如何飼養(yǎng)它們，一旦它們?cè)谝巴庀?，這個(gè)物種就滅絕了。

The Laos government said villagers in the country's central province of Bolikhamxay captured the saola in late August and brought it back to their village. When news of the capture reached the authorities a team was sent, advised by the IUCN and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), to examine and release the animal.
老撾政府稱，老撾中部博利坎賽省的村民于八月底捉住了這頭蘇拉并把它帶回村子。消息傳出后，在國(guó)際自然保護(hù)聯(lián)盟和野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)(WCS)的建議下，有關(guān)當(dāng)局派出了一支隊(duì)伍，試圖檢查并釋放這頭蘇拉。

Unfortunately the adult male saola was weakened by several days in captivity and died shortly after the team reached the remote village. It was photographed while still alive.
不幸的是，由于連日來被關(guān)在籠子里而極度虛弱，這頭成年雄性蘇拉在考察隊(duì)到達(dá)之后不久就死去了，考察隊(duì)只來得及在它死去前拍下了一張照片。

IUCN saola working group coordinator William Robichaud said: ''We hope the information gained from the incident can be used to ensure that this is not the last Saola anyone has a chance to see.''
IUCN蘇拉工作組的協(xié)調(diào)人William Robichaud說：“我們希望從這次事件中得到的信息能夠被用于保護(hù)蘇拉，確保這頭死去的蘇拉不是人們可能見到的最后一頭?！?/div>

And Dr Pierre Comizzoli, a member of the IUCN saola working group, said: ''Our lack of knowledge of saola biology is a major constraint to efforts to conserve it. It's clear that further awareness-raising efforts about the special status of saola are needed but the saola doesn't have much time left. At best a few hundred survive, but it may be only a few dozen. The situation is critical.''
另一位工作人員Pierre Comizzoli說：“保護(hù)這個(gè)物種最大的障礙在于我們對(duì)它缺乏認(rèn)識(shí)。我們需要讓人們對(duì)這個(gè)物種的特殊地位有更多的了解，但是它們等不了多久了。野外最多還有幾百頭蘇拉，但也可能只有幾十頭。情況已經(jīng)非常危急?！?/div>