2003年的“非典”，讓人痛徹心扉?？茖W家在“非典”發(fā)源她販賣的果子貍身上檢測到了病毒，，所以就有了“非典”病毒來自果子貍的說法，但其實果子貍是“非典”病毒韻中間宿主。那么果子貍有哪些特性呢？為什么它會成為“非典”病毒的中間宿主？

Masked palm civet or gem-faced civet is small-sized 1）mammal that belongs to thecivet family. It can be found across the Indian subcontinent and in the Southeast Asia.Masked palm civet has the widest geographic 2）distribution of all species of civet andability to survive in various types of forests.

Masked palm civet has 3）elongated snout， small round ears with slender tail. Thebody ranges from 50 to 76 cm in length， and the tail is between 45 and 64 cm long， morethan two-third the length of the body. They have no stripes or spots on either the tail orthe body. Weight depends on gender and age， but adults vary between 3.6 and 5 kg.

Masked palm civets are 4）nocturnal solitary predators that can be occasionallyactive during the day. These animals are partly arboreal. They sleep in "beds"， whichare usually located in trees and near a water source. Whenalarmed， Masked palm civets can spray a secretio， agaimstthe predator. The spray is similar in function to that of a skunk，to deter other predators.

Masked palm civets are5）omnivores that feedand birds as well as on fruit suchas figs， mangoes， bananas， andleaves. They also eat mollusks，arthropods， bark and to lesserextent snakes and frogs.

Masked palm civet can survive 10 years inthe wild and up to 20 years in the 6）captivity

It is classified by IUCN in 2008 as Least Concern as it occurs in many protectedareas， is tolerant to some degree of habitat modification， and widely distributed withpresumed large populations.

1） mammal ['m?ml]n.哺乳動物

2）distribution [，distri'bju?n]n.分配

3） elongate ['i：l??geit]v.延遲

4）nocturnal [n?k't?：nl] adj.夜間的

5） omnivore ['?mniv?：（r）]n.雜食動物 6）captivity [k?p'tiv?ti]n.束縛

果子貍是屬于靈貓科的小型哺乳動物。它遍及印度半島和東南亞。果子貍在所有種類的靈貓科動物中具有最廣泛的地理分布，并且能夠在各種類型的森林中生存。

果子貍具有細長的鼻子、小圓耳朵和細長的尾巴。長度在50到76厘米之間，而尾巴長度在50到64厘米之間，占整個身體長度的三分之二還多。它們的尾巴或身體都沒有條紋或斑點。果子貍的體重取決于性別和年齡，但成年果子貍的體重在3.6至5千克之間。

果子貍是夜間孤獨的捕食者，白天可能偶爾活動。它們部分是樹棲動物，通常躺在樹上和水源附近的“床”中睡覺。受到驚嚇時，果子貍會分泌物噴向捕食者，這些分泌物的功能與臭鼬的相似，可阻止其他捕食者。

果子貍是雜食動物，以老鼠和鳥類以及無花果、芒果、香蕉等水果和樹葉為食。他們還吃軟體動物、節(jié)肢動物、樹皮以及較小程度的蛇和青蛙。

果子貍在野外可以生存10年，在圈養(yǎng)中可以生存20年。

由于它在許多保護區(qū)出現(xiàn)，在一定程度上可以改交棲息地，并且大量存在且分布廣泛它被世界自然保護聯(lián)盟列為“無?！蔽锓N。