美洲狮是一种体型庞大、形似猫科的动物，分布于美洲。
Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America.
当有报告传到伦敦动物园，说一只野生美洲狮在伦敦以南四十五英里处被发现时，这些报告并未被认真对待。
When reports came into London Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken seriously.
然而，随着证据开始积累，动物园的专家们感到有义务展开调查，因为那些自称亲眼目睹美洲狮的人所提供的描述，出奇地相似。
However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were extraordinarily similar.
对美洲狮的追捕从一个小村庄展开，在那里，一名正在采摘黑莓的女子在距她仅五码远的地方目睹了"一只大猫"。
The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw 'a large cat' only five yards away from her.
她一看到它，它就立刻跑掉了；专家证实，除非被逼到走投无路的境地，否则美洲狮不会主动袭击人类。
It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered.
搜寻工作难以推进，因为美洲狮常常早上在某处被发现，到了晚上却在二十英里外的另一个地方现身。
The search proved difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place twenty miles away in the evening.
无论它走到哪里，身后都留下一串死去的鹿和兔子之类的小动物的踪迹。
Wherever it went, it left behind it a trail of dead deer and small animals like rabbits.
在多处地点发现了爪印，还有美洲狮的皮毛被发现附着在灌木上。
Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found clinging to bushes.
几个人抱怨夜间出现"类似猫叫的声音"，还有一名正在钓鱼的商人看到了爬在树上的美洲狮。
Several people complained of 'cat-like noises' at night and a businessman on a fishing trip saw the puma up a tree.
专家们现在已经完全确信那只动物就是美洲狮，但它究竟是从哪里来的呢？
The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a puma, but where had it come from?
由于全国任何一家动物园都没有报告美洲狮失踪，这只美洲狮必定属于一位私人收藏者，并且设法逃了出来。
As no pumas had been reported missing from any zoo in the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow managed to escape.
搜寻行动持续了数周，但美洲狮始终未被捕获。
The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught.
想到一头危险的野生动物至今仍在宁静的乡间逍遥法外，令人不安。
It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.