导读：达尔文：“就我所知，世界上没有其他任何地方，像这儿一样，岛屿间断隔离，且和大陆相距遥远，但却有着这么原始独特的物种。”

对应考题：2010.01.15北美托福阅读题

Falkland Islands Wolf 福克兰狼

The Falkland Island wolf became extinct in 1876

This species was the only native land mammal on the Falkland Islands and may have once been a companion animal to humans. Nevertheless, it was wiped out by humans in 1876. The Falkland Islands wolf is the only known canid species to have become extinct in historical times. The wolf was also known as the Warrah, a term based on a corruption of the native term for it. Sometimes, it is referred to as the Falkland Islands dog or fox too.

Darwin wrote about the wolf in his book, The Voyage of the Beagle. He commented that the species would probably be wiped out in a few years; at the time of his visit to the Falkland Islands, the numbers of the wolf had already dwindled. It was thought to be a threat to farmer’s sheep population, so it was often shot on sight. But other reports claim that the wolf was generally a docile animal that kept to itself and fed on birds and insects. Darwin even called it “tame.” So it seems like the wolf was destroyed for no good reason at all.

中文背景：

19世纪30年代，达尔文正在贝格尔号上进行他那次著名的旅行，他来到位于南美大陆东南角300英里之外的福克兰群岛，发现了一种“大型的像狼的狐狸”。这种犬科相当独特。达尔文在后来的《小猎鹰之旅》一书中写道：“就我所知，世界上没有其他任何地方，像这儿一样，岛屿间断隔离，且和大陆相距遥远，但却有着这么原始独特的物种。”这些犬科，在不同的岛屿上，分别有着不同的特征，这显示这些犬科是分别随各自所处的环境进化的，而没有互相影响。

达尔文同样好奇于福克兰狼的起源。这些犬科身型很小，毛发呈黄褐色，尾端则呈白色，下颚相对较短。达尔文称它们为“狐狸”。他是第一个怀疑它们不是狼的科学家。

很快，人类就向福克兰群岛移居了。与此同时，这种犬科的数量开始急剧下降。达尔文当时就预测，这种物种很快就会消失。他没有说错，人类为了它们的皮毛和保护羊群大量猎杀福克兰狼。到了1876年，科学家确认这个物种完全灭绝。