实力抢镜！一只豹猫出现在冬奥赛场，网友：它也想看比赛

Few would have expected that spectators at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics would include animals. And yet, coverage of the event featured several sightings of wildlife, particularly leopard cats apparently seeking to get in on the action.

你可能想不到，北京2022年冬奥会的观众还有小动物。在赛事期间，一些野生动物也进入了人类的镜头，想要一睹赛事盛况，比如说豹猫们。

On Jan 31, on the alpine ski slopes in Yanqing district, 90 kilometers northwest of Beijing, a leopard cat was spotted strolling through an award-ceremony rehearsal.

1月31日，在距北京西北部90公里的延庆高山滑雪赛区，一只豹猫缓缓走过颁奖仪式的排练现场。

拍摄者：胡凯心

The event caught the attention of volunteers and staff, with many snapping photos. Three days later, a Chinese photographer captured another leopard cat in the woods near the Olympic ski slopes. The creature ran past him, jumped over a fence and looked back.

这只豹猫吸引了在场很多志愿者和工作人员的注意，他们还拍下了照片或视频。三天以后，也就是2月3日，中国的一位赛事记者又拍到了另一只豹猫出现在工作雪道边的树林里。这只豹猫从他身边慢跑到护网外，停住了，还转身观望。

▲ 冬奥赛事记者在雪道边树林里拍到的豹猫

Among those most excited by these sightings was Luo Shujin, an avid skier and a conservation biologist at Peking University.

为这些景象激动不已的人中，有一位叫罗述金。她是北京冬奥高山滑雪项目的技术官员，还是北京大学生命科学学院的研究员。

Leopard cats are wild felids, slightly larger than house cats, and they mostly steer clear of human activity. However, according to Luo, the frequent appearance of the animals close to the ski runs indicates that the species has persisted in this human-dominated landscape, which is relatively close to the megacity of Beijing. And, their calm demeanor suggests they are not frightened by human activity.

豹猫是一种野生猫科动物，比家猫体型略大，大多数会避开人。而据罗述金介绍，豹猫出现在冬奥会滑雪赛场附近，说明该物种在北京周边地区以人类为主导的景观中仍能生存。而且，根据目击记录，这两次豹猫出现时都呈现出安静平和的状态，“并不怎么怕人”。

▲ 罗述金在冬奥会赛区（采访者供图）

Luo says in the absence of any research data, it is too early to draw any conclusions that the creation of the Olympic skiing venue has not affected the surrounding forests and wildlife. However, she says it's possible that the wild cats have to some extent already adapted to coexistence with humans, likely because people at the venue have not shown an aggressive attitude toward the animals since its construction.

罗述金介绍说，目前还没有系统的研究调查数据，所以断定这里的野生动物不受场馆建设影响还为时过早。但她认为可能是自场馆建设开始以来已经很多年了，场地的人对于动物没有敌意，态度友善，所以当地的豹猫在一定程度上适应了人类的存在。

Luo, 46, has been studying the wildlife around Yanqing for years. In December 2018, she was tracking leopard cat droppings on a hill when she discovered that the animals were living close to the ski resort. She found this surprising and decided to gather photographic evidence of wildlife in the area.

罗述金现年46岁，在延庆地区周围从事野生动物研究工作已有数年。2018年12月，她在山坡上追踪豹猫粪便时发现豹猫的生存区域离冬奥雪道场所很近。这个发现让她很惊喜，于是决定在这个区域收集野生动物的图片资料。

"I thought about that famous pictures of a puma walking by the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and I asked myself: Can we get a picture of a leopard cat walking by the alpine ski course of the Beijing Winter Olympics?"

“我立刻联想到一只美洲狮在夜幕下正从洛杉矶好莱坞标志前山梁上通过的那张照片。我问自己：‘我们能拍到豹猫在北京冬奥会高山滑雪场旁散步的照片吗?’”

▲ 在美国洛杉矶的格利菲公园拍到的公美洲狮。Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative

To examine the state of the animal's population, she and her colleagues set up 10 infrared cameras along 15 km of the hilly trail. The efforts paid off. They got pictures of many wild animals, including roe deer, badgers, gorals and wild boar. Leopard cats were photographed three times, the first one caught on camera in February last year—with the Olympic ski runs in the background.

为了检测野生动物的数量状况，她和同事们在山间15公里长的自然徒步路径上布设了大约10处红外相机固定监测点，拍下了很多野生动物，包括狍、猪獾、斑羚和野猪等动物。豹猫一共被拍到两三次，第一次是2021年2月，它的远处就是冬奥高山滑雪赛道。

▲ 2021年2月，豹猫走过红外相机镜头，对面是冬奥会高山滑雪赛道

"Who would have thought that this mountain trail, several kilometers away from the alpine skiing course of the Beijing Winter Olympics, would be frequented by leopard cats," she says.

“有谁会想到呢，这条距离冬奥高山滑雪赛道不远的北京山野小径，居然是目前国内最频繁拍摄到豹猫的地方。”

According to Luo, wild cats are rarely seen so close to big cities, especially metropolitan cities.

罗述金介绍说，其实全世界有野生猫科动物存在的城市很少，至于首都城市，就更罕见了。

"I think this is a little-known side of Beijing," says Luo, who is proud that such wildlife can be found so close to the capital city.

“这其实是北京鲜为人知的一面，” 罗述金说，她对能在距离首都如此近的地方看到这样的野生动物感到很自豪。

▲ 冬奥赛事记者在雪道边树林里拍到的豹猫。图源：新华社

Luo sent the photo to the journal Science, along with a 300-word essay titled, The Hidden Olympic Spectator, which was published on July 23, 2021, the opening day of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.

罗述金将照片发给《科学》杂志的编辑，还配了一篇300字小短文《隐秘的奥运观众》。照片和短文后来于2021年7月23日东京奥运会开幕当天发表。

She also shared the discovery with the 2022 Beijing Winter Games organizing committee, explaining its significance in terms of biodiversity, helping them to build a picture of the relationship between winter sports and nature.

罗述金还联系了北京冬奥组委，向奥组委展示了生物多样性的重要性，还阐述了冬季运动和自然之间的关系。

Luo's relationship with this Winter Olympics has not been all hard work. She has also found time to indulge her passion for winter sports. After several tests, she was appointed as a technical officer on the Olympic alpine skiing referee team, bringing her even closer to the action. For Luo, being surrounded by hundreds of athletes and spectators was a thrill—a marked contrast to her solitary fieldwork.

罗述金和北京冬奥会的联系不只有野生动物研究工作。她还抓住机会，实现了自己对冬季运动的热爱。经过几轮考察，她有了个新身份——北京冬奥高山滑雪国内技术官员，这让她离冬奥比赛更近了一步。对罗述金来说，和数百名运动员、观众共事让她很兴奋，这与她平日在人烟稀少的野外考察大不相同。

"I was deeply touched by the exchange and communication at this grand event that spans races, languages and countries," she says. "Such an event causes me to hope that we can leverage our strengths to ensure continued coexistence between wilderness and human settlements."

“我们被跨种族、跨语言、跨国家的一次世界性盛会的交流和沟通而深深触动，” 罗述金说道，“这样的盛会让我希望能够贡献出自己的力量，让野生环境和人类环境的共存状态维持下去。”

▲ 罗述金将发表在《科学》杂志上的文章打印出来，并邀请不同国家地区代表在上面签名留念

Now that the 2022 Winter Olympics have ended, Luo plans to continue her leopard cat research in Yanqing district, just as her many European counterparts have carried out studies on wildlife around ski resorts near the Alps.

冬奥会结束后，罗述金计划回到延庆地区，像很多在阿尔卑斯山滑雪场地区进行野生动物研究的欧洲同行那样，她也会继续对豹猫和野生动物的研究工作。

"The alpine skiing site on the outskirts of Beijing will be an excellent place to study how wild animals share the same space with humans," she says. "As we watch the skiers racing down the slopes, I know that the striding leopard cat will be watching us."

“北京附近的高山滑雪场地，是研究人和野生动物如何实现共享生存空间的绝佳地点。”罗述金说，“正如我们观看滑雪运动员从雪坡上滑下来一样，我知道大步前进的豹猫也会注视着我们。”

编辑：陈月华

录音：Stephanie Stone

来源：新华社 猫盟CFCA 三联生活周刊