World News for Students of English

12-11-2014 07:00

Halloween might be old news but something pretty scary has been discovered in Afghanistan.

More than 60 years after its last confirmed sighting, a deer with vampire-like fangs is said to still be stalking northeast Afghanistan slopes.

The animal, known as a Kashmir musk deer, was last spotted by a Danish survey team in 1948.

Five sightings were recorded by the survey team, including an adult male who was spotted in three locations, and a female with a youngster.

The amazing creatures are categorised as endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.

Their scent glands are coveted by wildlife traffickers and are considered more valuable by weight than gold, fetching as much as $45,000 a kilo on the black market.

Poachers also target the male’s distinct sabre-like tusks, which are used during the rutting season.

Difficult words: old news (in the past), fang (a large sharp tooth), stalk (move), vampire (a monster who looks like a human and has long teeth), scent gland (an organ which produces smell), covet (want), trafficker (someone who collects something illegally to sell it), fetch (bring), sabre (a heavy sword), tusk (a long pointed tooth), rutting season (the season of sexual activity for some animals when males fight for the females).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com