山东动物园上演“虎毒食子” 三老虎凶残咬死幼虎

These horrific images show three young tigers killing and feeding on a young cub at a safari park in eastern China, apparently because they had not been properly fed.
上面这张可怕的图片，说的正是中国东部一动物园中三只老虎残杀吞食幼崽的故事，这显然是因喂养不到位，老虎很饥饿所造成的。

The shocking photos of Siberian tigers eating a rare white Bengal cub were taken by visitors touring the wildlife park in Rongcheng, Shandong province.
该图是游览山山东荣成野生动物园时，一名游客拍下的可怕瞬间。图中三只西伯利亚虎正在残杀一只孟加拉虎幼崽。

'At first we thought they were playing but then they got the cub on the floor,' said an appalled onlooker.
震惊的目击者称：“一开始我们以为它们只是在玩，没想到它们把幼虎按倒在地。”

'Then while two of them pulled at its legs, the other bit into its neck. From then on the poor thing was food as far as they were concerned.’
“接着，两只西伯利亚虎开始拖拽幼虎的四肢，另一只则咬住了幼虎的脖子。那时起，可怜的幼虎就只是它们的食物了。”

'We couldn't see any meat anywhere and they looked like they were hungry. It was shocking.'
“周围并没有任何食物，它们看起来似乎是饿坏了。这一切都太吓人了。”

Zoo officials have denied claims that the young tigers turned on the cub because they hadn't been fed.
成年虎因为喂养不善，才会吞食幼虎。对此结论，动物园的负责人予以否认。

A spokesman said: 'Young big cats practice their hunting skills all the time and we think that's what happened here.
发言人表示：“成熟的大型猫科动物都会自发地训练其捕食能力，而捕食幼虎只是恰好在那种情况下发生。”

'It's a terrible tragedy as both these breeds are endangered in the wild.'
“对于这两种濒危的野生物种而言，这都是一场可怕的悲剧。”

The Siberian tiger is the biggest cat on earth and would not normally come into contact with other species of tiger in the wild.
西伯利亚虎是地球上最大的猫科动物，通常不会与世界上其他任何一种虎类发生接触。

If a rogue tiger invaded its territory, it would have no hesitation in attacking, but it would normally eat other large animals.
如果是这只调皮的幼崽侵入对方的领地，那么西伯利亚虎则会毫不犹豫地发起攻击。通常，他们也会捕食其他的大型动物。

Siberian tigers will scavenge a tiger carcass if sufficiently hungry, but do not like the taste of carnivores' meat, especially that of their own kind.
西伯利亚虎要是饿极了，会把虎尸吃得一干二净，但是它们并不喜好食肉动物的尸体，特别是与它们同种的其他老虎。

The Siberian male has been known to kill the cubs of others, but this is generally to bring the mother into heat and mate with her. The cubs are only eaten because in nature nothing goes wasted.
西伯利亚雄虎曾以捕食幼虎出名，但是通常是为了吸引母虎发情与它交配才会这么做。自然界弱肉强食的法则注定幼虎是唯一会被捕食的对象。

This level of desperation normally comes about if the tiger is old and injured, or sick.
通常当老虎老迈或者伤病时，这种残酷的现象就会发生改变。