Shownotes Transcript
Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites.
I'm Nancy Sun.
And I'm Brody Halverson.
In today's news:
A black bear makes a comeback, a fuzzy find almost fools scientists, and super sticky stuff.
Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
受傷台灣黑熊回歸森林 A Formosan Black Bear Makes a Big Comeback!
It was another peaceful day out in Taitung County.
The sun was shining, the grass was green, the birds were singing…
And a Formosan black bear was walking near a road when…
Ouch!
The bear got caught in a trap!
It was a rope trap.
The bear was very scared, and climbed up a tree to hide.
幾個月前，台東山區1隻台灣黑熊因前肢誤中套索受傷躲到樹上。
People from an Indigenous village close by found the bear.
And they called forest rangers (護林員) and experts in to help.
Everyone worked together to rescue the bear.
They saw that it was a male bear, about 3 or 4 years old.
They named him "Lanihu".
At first, they saw that the bear's front paw (熊掌) was very badly hurt.
They were worried that they may have to cut it off to save the bear.
But after seven months of nutritious (營養的) food, and medical care, Lanihu got better!
The people helped Lanihu go back into the forest.
And Indigenous villagers asked mountain spirits to help protect Lanihu.
Formosan black bears have a special place in Indigenous culture.
To many tribes, the bears are brave warriors, and leaders in the forest (森林中的王者).
They are also sacred (神聖的), and in some tribes, it is forbidden to kill a Formosan black bear.
Forest officials say they put a tracking device on Lanihu.
This way they know where Lanihu is in the wild.
And this makes it easier to help him if he is in danger.
Officials also thanked Indigenous tribes for their help in saving bears.
And they hope they can keep working with Indigenous communities and people living nearby to help protect Formosan black bears.
澳洲發現毛毛的新甲蟲 Beetle Almost Mistaken for Bird Poo
What's fuzzy all-over, and kind of looks like bird poo?
It's a newly-discovered beetle!
A scientist was in a forest in Australia.
As he was walking, something caught his eye (吸引他的目光)…
Something white and a little fuzzy on a leaf…
He thought it was bird poo.
When he looked closer, he realized it was a longhorn beetle.
The beetle was red and black, with long white hairs all over its body.
研究員無意中發現這個長角甲蟲家族的新品種，剛看到還以為是鳥糞。
The scientist went home, and quickly looked through all the books and papers he could find.
He wanted to find out more about this amazing beetle.
But none of the pictures he saw looked anything like his fuzzy beetle.
He asked other experts.
And they were sure that this beetle was a totally new species (物種).
But that wasn't all.
This beetle was in fact, a new genus (屬), that's a new family of species!
They named the beetle "Excastra albopilosa".
That's Latin for "from the camp", and "white and hairy".
But why is this strange-looking beetle so hairy?
Some scientists think the white hairs help protect the beetle.
The hairs make the beetle look like it is covered in fungus (菌).
And this would make it look less tasty (不怎麼好吃) to birds.
The scientists are also amazed that no one has found this beetle before.
They are looking for more, to study the beetle in detail (仔細研究).
They say this also shows that there could be many more species in nature that we haven't found yet.
And many could be in danger of extinction.
In fact, scientists believe there could be 5.5 million insect species in the world.
And they say only 20 percent of these have been found.
So, in today's News Bites:
A Formosan black bear got caught in a trap.
People from an Indigenous village close by and forest rangers all worked together to rescue the bear.
They named him Lanihu.
After seven months of nutritious food, and medical care, Lanihu got better!
The people helped Lanihu go back into the forest.
And,
A scientist in Australia found a new species of longhorn beetle.
The beetle was red and black, with long white hairs all over its body.
They named the beetle "Excastra albopilosa".
This beetle was in fact, a new genus, that's a new family of species!
They say this also shows that there could be many more species in nature that we haven't found yet.
趣味小點 Tasty Tidbit
And now for today's Tasty Tidbit…
Ever wonder how geckos defy gravity?
They can walk on walls, or even on the ceiling!
It's all because of tiny hairs on their feet.
These hairs are called setae.
These setae have millions of tiny, tiny branches.
And these branches make a force that makes things stick together.
They're like millions of tiny sticky pads.
These hairs are the secret behind the gecko's wall-walking ways!
And that's today's episode of News Bites!
If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode!
We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!