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1. The gerenuk
非洲瞪羚

The gerenuk is, unsurprisingly upon inspection, the longest-necked antelope on earth. Found in the Horn of Africa, they use their lithe appendages to reach high-growing foliage.
不難發(fā)現(xiàn)，非洲瞪羚是地球上脖子最長的羚羊。它們生活在非洲之角，用輕盈的四肢擷取高處的樹葉。

Gerenuks can also stand on their hind legs and use their gangly forelegs to feed - sometimes reaching up as high as eight feet.
非洲瞪羚還能用后腿站立起來，然后用細長的前腿輔助進食——有時候能達到8英尺高。

Their somewhat comical stature is only enhanced by their large ears, which help them keep cool in the searing African heat.
一對大耳朵使得它們的形象更為滑稽，可以幫助它們在炙熱的非洲保持涼爽。

聲明：本雙語文章的中文翻譯系滬江英語原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容，轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處。中文翻譯僅代表譯者個人觀點，僅供參考。如有不妥之處，歡迎指正。

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2. The ribbon seal
帶斑海豹

Ribbon seals inhabit pack ice in the north Pacific Ocean and the adjacent fringes of the Arctic Ocean, and due to their remote habitat, little is actually known about them.
帶斑海豹生活在太平洋北部積冰處及鄰近的大西洋邊緣，因棲息地非常偏遠，人們對它們知之甚少。

Adults all have four white bands on their black bodies, but are born completely white.
所有的成年帶斑海豹都是黑色的，身上有四個白環(huán)，但它們出生時卻是通體雪白。

It has been suggested that their distinctive markings help them identify one another during mating season, but that the pattern also works to camouflage them when seen from a distance against the broken ice and water.
有人認為這種與眾不同的標志性體色可以幫助它們在交配季節(jié)辨認出彼此，但這種配色也能讓它們隱藏在碎冰和海水之間，從遠處不易發(fā)現(xiàn)。

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3. The maned wolf
鬃狼

This spindly-legged mammal is not a fox, nor, as its name suggests, a wolf. The maned wolf lives across central regions in South America and possess big ears and very long legs. Unlike wolves or dogs, they mate for life with one partner and don't form packs.
顧名思義，這種長著細長腿的哺乳動物不是狐貍，而是狼。鬃狼生活在南美洲中部，長著大大的耳朵和很長的四肢。它們不同于狼或狗，終生只與一位伴侶交配，而且不會成群生活在一起。

Generally they are shy beings but if threatened, the fur on the scruff of their necks puffs up - thus the name.
總的來說，它們都很害羞，但一旦受到威脅，脖子上的鬃毛就會豎起來——因此得名“鬃狼”。

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4. The white peacock
白孔雀

These startling peacocks are not albinos, but rather a subspecies of the blue peacock born by genetic mutation.
這種驚艷的孔雀可不是得了白化病，它們屬于藍孔雀的一個亞種，由基因突變而來。

White peacocks boast beautiful blue eyes but thanks to a lack of melanin have no colour to their plumage.
白孔雀長著一雙美麗的藍眼睛，但因為缺少黑色素，它們的羽毛是無色的。

When two of them breed, their chicks are yellow but all turn white, so they have been mated and multiplied in captivity. Generally, though, they remain a rare sight.
兩只成年孔雀生出的小孔雀是黃色的，但會完全變成白色，所以目前它們都是人工繁育的。但是，總的來說，白孔雀還是一大奇觀。

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5. The white reindeer
白馴鹿

Much like the white peacock, this magnificent creature is of the same species as a brown reindeer but is another case of a genetic mutation.
跟白孔雀的情況很像，這種美麗的生物與棕色馴鹿屬于同一種類，只不過它是另一例基因突變的產(chǎn)物。

White reindeer, which appear in the wilds of Finland, Norway and Sweden, are extremely rare, though they have been born in captivity elsewhere, including England. In their northern homeland, they are seen by some as magical and a signal of good luck.
白馴鹿生活在芬蘭、挪威、瑞典的森林之中，極其稀有，但它們已在包括英格蘭在內(nèi)的其它地區(qū)人工繁育。在它們的北歐故鄉(xiāng)，人們認為白馴鹿是有魔力的，而且是好運的象征。

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6. The southern flying squirrel
蝦夷小飛鼠

More widespread than its Japanese cousin, the southern flying squirrel is a remarkable critter found across the US and Canada.
蝦夷小飛鼠比近親的日本小飛鼠分布更為廣泛，這種奇特的小動物遍布于美國和加拿大各地。

They are nocturnal, and very social - choosing not to hibernate during winter but instead curling up together in groups of more than 20 and hiding in tree hollows.
它們是夜行性動物，非常喜歡社交——冬天不冬眠，但20多只小飛鼠會一起藏在樹洞里蜷縮著抱團取暖。

Again, they don't actually fly but they are capable of gliding for distances of more than 100 feet.
重申一下，它們其實不會飛，但是能滑行100多英尺。

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7. The Chinese water deer
獐

Upon first glance, the Chinese water deer doesn't appear particularly peculiar, until you zone in on their mouths.
一眼看去，獐的長相并沒有什么特別之處，但當你鎖定它們的嘴部就不一樣了。

These primitive deer grow long fangs instead of antlers, which they use to fight one another, and have a wide vocal range of 'barks' and screeches when alarmed.
這種原始鹿類沒有鹿角，卻長著長長的獠牙，可以用獠牙互相打斗。遇到危險時，它們可以發(fā)出各種音調(diào)的“吠聲”和尖叫。

Despite their Chinese heritage, around ten per cent of their world population now resides in the East of England.
盡管它們起源于中國，但現(xiàn)在世界上10%的獐生活在英格蘭東部。

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8. The blue-footed booby
藍腳鰹鳥

Nice feathers, very impressive feet.
羽毛美麗，藍腳奪目。

The blue footed booby is a bird found in tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean, and particularly the Galapagos islands. It gets its brightly-coloured walkers from the carotenoid pigments present in its food.
藍腳鰹鳥是生活在太平洋熱帶地區(qū)特別是加拉帕戈斯群島的一種鳥類。它們之所以擁有色彩明亮的藍腳，是因為它們的食物中有類胡蘿卜色素。

When mating season rolls around, males perform splendid dances to showcase these dazzling feet - and the bluer the better in terms of attraction.
交配季節(jié)到來了，雄鳥們就會跳起美輪美奐的舞蹈，炫耀它們光彩奪目的藍腳——誰的腳更藍，誰就更有魅力。

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9. The dumbo octopus
小飛象章魚

The dumbo octopus is a rare breed, often called the Blind Octopus due to its large but rather useless eyes.
小飛象章魚非常稀有，它們常被稱為“盲章魚”，因為它們長著一對大眼睛卻完全看不見。

It lives very deep in the ocean and can use jet propulsion to move through the water, as well as a crawling motion to cross the seabed.
它們生活在大洋極深處，可以用噴氣推進的方式在水中移動，也可以在海底爬行。

Although not much is known about these shy ocean dwellers, they can grow up to six feet long and are capable of changing colour.
雖然我們對這種羞澀的深海生物不甚了解，但它們可以長到6英尺長，而且能改變體色。