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，老挝一偏远地区的村民捉住了一头苏拉。苏拉世界上最珍稀的动物之一，人称“亚洲独角兽”(也有人译作“麒麟”)，这是十多年以来人们首次发现它们的踪迹。不过，这头苏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.
这种濒危哺乳动物是人们1992年在越南和老挝的山区首次发现的。国际自然保护联盟(IUCN)的工作人员说，苏拉虽然长得像北非羚羊，却是野牛的近亲，它行踪不定，难以捉摸，因此被称作“独角兽”，尽管它其实有两只角。

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.
这种动物被列入了“极度濒危物种”的名单，也就是说只有几百头苏拉生活在野外。动物保护者说，动物园里没有这种动物，人们也几乎不知道如何饲养它们，一旦它们在野外消失，这个物种就灭绝了。

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.
老挝政府称，老挝中部博利坎赛省的村民于八月底捉住了这头苏拉并把它带回村子。消息传出后，在国际自然保护联盟和野生动物保护协会(WCS)的建议下，有关当局派出了一支队伍，试图检查并释放这头苏拉。

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，由于连日来被关在笼子里而极度虚弱，这头成年雄性苏拉在考察队到达之后不久就死去了，考察队只来得及在它死去前拍下了一张照片。

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苏拉工作组的协调人William Robichaud说：“我们希望从这次事件中得到的信息能够被用于保护苏拉，确保这头死去的苏拉不是人们可能见到的最后一头。”

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.''
另一位工作人员Pierre Comizzoli说：“保护这个物种最大的障碍在于我们对它缺乏认识。我们需要让人们对这个物种的特殊地位有更多的了解，但是它们等不了多久了。野外最多还有几百头苏拉，但也可能只有几十头。情况已经非常危急。”