这只雌山猫已经很苍老很憔悴了,因为这一年对山猫说来,是一个艰苦的年头。去年秋天,此地发生了一场兔子瘟疫,剥夺了山猫的主要食物来源。到冬天,又是大雪,又是冰冻,几乎把所有的松鸡都给冻死了,接下来又是阴雨连绵的春天,仅存的几窝小松鸡也受了害。这只山猫妈妈也跟它许多别的同类一样,过着极度艰苦的日子。那些小山猫——它们在还没出世的时候,就已经饿得半死了——对它更是双重负担,因为 This female lynx has been very old and gaunt, because it was a tough year for the Bobcats. Last fall, a rabbit plague struck here depriving the Bobcats of the main source of food. In winter, it was snow again, it was frozen, and almost all the grouse was frozen to death. Then there was a rainy spring, and the remaining small chicks were also damaged. The lynx mother, like many of her peers, lived an extremely difficult time. Those Bobcats, who were half starved when they were not yet born, are a double burden to it because