From VOA Learning English, this is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. I’m June Simms.
And I’m Bob Doughty. Today we tell about1 a new animal species native to South America. We tell how agricultural chemical products2 are harming3 frogs4 in northern California. And we have a report about elephants and how the night sky could affect5 the timing6 of their raids7 on farms.
Meet the new mammal8! The olinguito is new to science, although9 it has been living9 in the cloud forests10 of South America for some time, unknown to researchers11.
Scientists say the olinguito is the first new carnivore discovered12 in the Americas in more than 30 years. It is a hairy13 orange-brown15 creature with a sweet face16 and big eyes. The animal has small, rounded ears17 and lives in the trees. An adult weighs18 one kilogram and measures19 about 75 centimeters, with half of
And I’m Bob Doughty. Today we tell about1 a new animal species native to South America. We tell how agricultural chemical products2 are harming3 frogs4 in northern California. And we have a report about elephants and how the night sky could affect5 the timing6 of their raids7 on farms.
Meet the new mammal8! The olinguito is new to science, although9 it has been living9 in the cloud forests10 of South America for some time, unknown to researchers11.
Scientists say the olinguito is the first new carnivore discovered12 in the Americas in more than 30 years. It is a hairy13 orange-brown15 creature with a sweet face16 and big eyes. The animal has small, rounded ears17 and lives in the trees. An adult weighs18 one kilogram and measures19 about 75 centimeters, with half of
those centimeters taken up by20 its ringed tail21.
The olinguito shares22 its family roots23 with raccoons24 and kinkajous. Most of the time25, it likes to eat fruit, although26 it also eats meat27. Active at night, the animal has lived in Colombia and Ecuador for a long time. But the olinguito did not exist in science books before now.
Kristofer Helgen is the curator of mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. He led the research team28 that confirmed the existence of the olinguito. It had been mistaken29 more than a century ago for a look-alike animal30 -- a similar31 but larger olingo.
“Think about these cloud forests. This animal, like so many animals in the rain forest, only comes out at night32. It doesn’t come out of the trees. It’s wet. It’s dark. It’s socked-in33 with cloud. It’s hard to find these animals.”
But his team succeeded in making the discovery. In the forest, they observed that the olinguito was not just another olingo.
Mr. Helgen had been studying olingos in a museum 10 years ago. At that time, he observed a difference in the size and shape34 of the heads and teeth35. That led him on an effort to prove he was looking at an animal never before described36 by science.
About 10 years of work led Kristofer Helgen from museum storage areas37 to cloud forests in South America. He got lucky38 when he communicated with a zoologist in Ecuador. The animal expert there made a short video that scientists say shows an olinguito in the trees.
The olinguito shares22 its family roots23 with raccoons24 and kinkajous. Most of the time25, it likes to eat fruit, although26 it also eats meat27. Active at night, the animal has lived in Colombia and Ecuador for a long time. But the olinguito did not exist in science books before now.
Kristofer Helgen is the curator of mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. He led the research team28 that confirmed the existence of the olinguito. It had been mistaken29 more than a century ago for a look-alike animal30 -- a similar31 but larger olingo.
“Think about these cloud forests. This animal, like so many animals in the rain forest, only comes out at night32. It doesn’t come out of the trees. It’s wet. It’s dark. It’s socked-in33 with cloud. It’s hard to find these animals.”
But his team succeeded in making the discovery. In the forest, they observed that the olinguito was not just another olingo.
Mr. Helgen had been studying olingos in a museum 10 years ago. At that time, he observed a difference in the size and shape34 of the heads and teeth35. That led him on an effort to prove he was looking at an animal never before described36 by science.
About 10 years of work led Kristofer Helgen from museum storage areas37 to cloud forests in South America. He got lucky38 when he communicated with a zoologist in Ecuador. The animal expert there made a short video that scientists say shows an olinguito in the trees.
The video confirms that the olinguito is different from the olingo.
Mr. Helgen says even39 people who live near the olinguitos’ forests do not see it as different from similar animals.
But it seems40 the world knew an olinguito long before 2013, without knowing it. A female41 of the species from Colombia was even kept at zoos42 in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. But zoo officials thought43 they were showing an olingo, the similar animal.
Kristofer Helgen spoke with the keeper of that olinguito, who told him a sad story. She said the animal was moved from onezoo to the next because she refused to mate with male olingos.
Mr. Helgen says that mating44 was impossible. The olinguito and the olingo are totally different species. So she was not just choosy45.
Mr. Helgen says tens of thousands46 of olinguitos live in the wild47 and are not in danger of disappearing forever48.
Human beings49, however50, are moving closer51 to
the olinguito habitat in the Andean cloud forests. The research team estimates that 42 percent of historic olinguito habitat has been removed.Mr. Helgen says even39 people who live near the olinguitos’ forests do not see it as different from similar animals.
But it seems40 the world knew an olinguito long before 2013, without knowing it. A female41 of the species from Colombia was even kept at zoos42 in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. But zoo officials thought43 they were showing an olingo, the similar animal.
Kristofer Helgen spoke with the keeper of that olinguito, who told him a sad story. She said the animal was moved from onezoo to the next because she refused to mate with male olingos.
Mr. Helgen says that mating44 was impossible. The olinguito and the olingo are totally different species. So she was not just choosy45.
Mr. Helgen says tens of thousands46 of olinguitos live in the wild47 and are not in danger of disappearing forever48.
The findings52 were published53 in the journal ZooKeys.
You are listening to Science in the News from VOA Learning English. With Bob Doughty, I’m June Simms in Washington.
Vocabulary
1. tell about = falar sobre
2. agricultural chemical products = produtos quimicos agricolas
3. harming = prejudicando
4. frogs = rã
5. could affect = poderia afetar
6. timing = cronometragem
7. raids = incursão, ataque surpresa
8. Meet the new mammal = Conheça o novo mamifero
9. although = embora
10. it has been living = ele vem morando
11. cloud forests = florestas com névoa
12. unknown to researchers = desconhecido para os pesquisadores
13. discovered = descoberto
14. hairy = peludo
15. orange-brown = marrom alaranjado
16. sweet face = rosto doce (amável)
17. rounded ears = orelhas arredondadas
18. weighs = pesa
19. measures = mede
20. taken up by = tomado por
21. ringed tail = cauda anelada
22. shares = divide, compartilha
23. roots = raízes
24. raccoons = guaxinins
25. Most of the time = a maior parte do tempo
26. although = embora
27. also eats meat = também come carne
28. led the research team = liderou a equipe de pesquisa
29. had been mistaken = tinha sido confundido
30. look-alike animal = animal parecido
31. similar = semelhante
32. comes out at night = sai a noite
33. socked-in = bem sucedido
34. size and shape = tamanho e forma
35. teeth = dentes
36. never before described = nunca antes descrito
37. storage areas = areas armazenamento
38. got lucky = teve sorte
39. even = ate mesmo
40. seems = parece
41. female = femea
42. kept at zoos = mantida em zoológicos
43. thought = achavam
44. mating = acasalamento
45. choosy = miudinho
46. tens of thousands = dezenas de milhares
47. wild = na natureza, selvagem
48. danger of disappearing forever = risco de desaparecer para sempre
49. Human beings = seres humanos
50. However = contudo
51. Moing closer = movendo-se mais perto
52. findings = descobertas
53. published = publicado(a)
