Easily identified by its strong markings1 and orange skin, the ___________ is

mostly seen in the wild, prowling2 its territory with an unsteady gait3.
Often aggressive to younger cubs4 the ______________ is known
predominantly for its curious diet: starving itself on sparse vegetation
during the day, then hunting large slabs of meat at night.
Here we see a herd5 of young males nervously gathering at a watering
hole6. The ___________ waits at the edges for one of the males to foolishly
separate itself from the protection of the herd. Once isolated, the young
male is vulnerable and often paralyzed by the _____________’s sudden
approach, which cause the rest of the herd to scuttle7 in panic. The young
male has now little chance of escaping the ____________’s powerful claws
and now only pretends to be gay to wander off. But this ___________ has
not tasted meat for days and is in no mood to be so easily discouraged.
And eventually the young male is dragged off to the ___________ inner city
apartment.
(…)
____________ numbers have grown considerably over the past ten years
due to culling8 of its natural enemy. Many areas are now overrun9 with
__________, which has had such a devastating effects on the number of
young male herds. The authorities have taken to introducing a genetically
modified young male to control ___________ numbers.
(…)
Thanks to the genetically modified male, young male herds are slowly
returning to their 1990’s numbers. But some experts worry they may be
too effective and they’re suggesting there may be a future need to build
____________ sanctuaries10 to make sure the species doesn’t die out
altogether.

1) mark‧ing / ˈmɑːkɪŋ $ ˈmɑːr- / noun [ countable usually plural,

uncountable ] the coloured patterns and shapes on an animal’s fur, on
leaves etc :
This dolphin is noted for its distinctive black and white markings.
the vivid markings of the angelfish

2) prowl / praʊl / verb [ intransitive and transitive ] if an animal prowls,

it moves around an area quietly, especially because it is hunting another
animal

3) gait / ɡeɪt / noun [ singular ] the way someone walks : a slow shuffling
gait

4) cub / kʌb / noun [ countable ] the baby of a wild animal such as a lion
or a bear :
a five-month-old lion cub
a tiger and her cubs

5) herd / hɜːd $ hɜːrd / noun [ countable ] a group of animals of one kind

that live and feed together → flock
herd of

1 of 4
a herd of cattle
herds of elephants
6) wa‧ter‧hole / ˈwɔːtəhəʊl $ ˈwɒːtərhoʊl, ˈwɑː- / noun [ countable ]
a small area of water in a dry country where wild animals drink

7) scut‧tle / ˈskʌtl / verb [ intransitive always + adverb/preposition ] to

move quickly with short steps, especially because you are afraid and do
not want to be noticed :
A little lizard scuttled across the path.

8) cull / kʌl / verb [ transitive ] to kill animals so that there are not too
many of them, or so that a disease does not spread

9) o‧ver‧run / ˌəʊvəˈrʌn $ ˌoʊ- / verb ( past tense overran / -ˈræn / , past

participle overrun , present participle overrunning ) [ transitive usually
passive ] if unwanted things or people overrun a place, they spread over it
in great numbers
be overrun by/with something
a tiny island overrun by tourists
The house was overrun with mice.

10) sanc‧tu‧a‧ry / ˈsæŋktʃuəri, -tʃəri $ -tʃueri / noun ( plural sanctuaries )

[ countable ] an area for birds or animals where they are protected and
cannot be hunted SYN refuge
bird/wildlife etc sanctuary
The park is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the US.
sanctuary for
a sanctuary for tigers

fierce / fɪəʳs / [ adjective ] a fierce animal looks very frightening and is

ready to attack people :
▪ The dog was standing at the gate, looking fierce and growling.
▪ Swans are always fierce in defence of their young.
fiercely [ adverb ]
▪ The female spider often reacts fiercely to the male’s advances.
vicious / ˈvɪʃəs / [ adjective ] a vicious animal is likely to attack and cause
injury, often suddenly and for no reason :
▪ Keep away from that horse -- he can be vicious.
▪ Rottweilers are vicious dogs, far too dangerous to have as pets.
viciously [ adverb ]
▪ I put out my hand to stroke the cat but it spat at me viciously.

vulnerable / BrE ; AmE /

weak and easily hurt physically or emotionally
Exhaustion from their long and fruitless war had left them vulnerable to
attack. ◇ We should protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

2 of 4
Old people are particularly vulnerable to the flu. ◇ She looked very
vulnerable standing there on her own. ◇ In cases of food poisoning, young
children are especially vulnerable . ◇ Animals are at their most vulnerable
when searching for food for their young. ◇ The sudden resignation of the
financial director put the company in a very vulnerable position.

at risk phrase
in danger of sth unpleasant or harmful happening
Butterflies are at risk from attack by birds. ◇ Lone parent families with
young children are particularly at risk of becoming homeless. ◇ If we go
to war, innocent lives will be put at risk .
As with all diseases, certain groups will be more at risk than others.
See also risk ⇨ RISK   1

savage / ˈsævɪdʒ / [ adjective ] violent in a completely uncontrolled way,

and always ready to attack :
▪ They caught the monkey, but it was so savage that no one could get
near enough to feed it.
▪ At night, packs of savage dogs roamed the streets.
savagely [ adverb ]
▪ The dog snarled savagely as soon as we came near.

helpless / BrE ; AmE /

unable to take care of yourself or do things without the help of other
people
Paul threw up his hands in a helpless gesture of surrender. ◇ He lay
helpless on the floor. ◇ It's natural to feel helpless against such abuse.
Children are the most helpless victims of war. ◇ The worst part is being
helpless to change anything.
►  helplessly / BrE ; AmE / adv. : They watched helplessly as their home
went up in flames.

ferocious / fəˈrəʊʃəs / [ adjective ] violent and frighteningly powerful, and

so able to cause great harm :
▪ The tiger is a ferocious beast which has already killed ten villagers.
▪ These bears look ferocious, but attacks by them are extremely rare.
ferociously [ adverb ]
▪ The eagle tears at its prey ferociously with its beak.

endangered / BrE ; AmE /

at risk of disappearing or being destroyed
The sea turtle is an endangered species ( = it may soon no longer
exist ) . ◇ The group has campaigned to save several endangered
buildings in the area.
See also endanger ⇨ THREATEN   2

3 of 4
open to sth
not well protected from sth such as attack, injury or criticism
The system is open to abuse.
He has laid himself wide open to political attack.
See also lay sb open to sth ⇨ EXPOSE

exposed / BrE ; AmE /

(of a person) not protected from danger, attack or criticism
She was left feeling exposed and vulnerable . ◇ From the moment of birth,
a baby is exposed to all the hazards in the external environment.
See also expose ⇨ EXPOSE , exposed ⇨ BARE

defenceless / BrE ; AmE / ( BrE ) ( AmE defenseless )

weak and not able to protect yourself; having no protection
I can't believe that we persist in such cruelty to defenceless animals. ◇
The village is defenceless against attack.

dog eat dog when people compete against each other and will do
anything to get what they want :
It’s a dog eat dog world out there.
a dog’s life spoken a life that is difficult and unpleasant, with very little
pleasure :
His wife’s a nag who leads him a dog’s life (= makes his life
unpleasant ) .
every dog has its/his day used to say that even the most unimportant
person has a time in their life when they are successful and important
a dog in the manger someone who cannot have or does not need
something, but does not want anyone else to have it

play (a game of) cat and mouse (with somebody) to pretend to

allow someone to do or have what they want, and then to stop them from
doing or having it :
The police played an elaborate game of cat and mouse to trap him.
like a cat on hot bricks British English , like a cat on a hot tin roof
American English so nervous or anxious that you cannot keep still or keep
your attention on one thing
like the cat that got the cream British English , like the cat that ate
the canary American English informal very proud or pleased because of
something you have achieved or got
look like something the cat dragged/brought in British English
informal to look very dirty or untidy
to frighten someone in order to make them do something
cow somebody into something
The protesters had been cowed into submission by the police.

4 of 4