动物如何“说”出爱恨情仇

蓝色羽毛

Dogs bark, cats meow, birds chirp. We're pretty familiar with these forms of communication. But animals use sounds in other ways too. To find a mate, the male ruffed grouse1 stands on a hollow log and beats his wings, making a drumming sound. The hollow log amplifies the sound so that it can be heard for up to a quarter of a mile. Mole rats use a banging sound for the opposite reason. They like to live alone, so they warn other mole rats to stay out of their way by banging their heads on the top of their tunnels.

　　狗儿汪汪，猫咪喵喵，小鸟啾啾，这是我们再熟悉不过的交流方式了。不过动物们的这些声音还别有用处。雄松鸡在求偶的时候总是站在空心的圆木上拍动翅膀，发出击鼓般的声音。空心的木头可以将声音放大，传到周围0.25英里远的地方。而鼹鼠发出砰砰的声音，其目的则刚好相反。因为它们喜欢独居，所以它们通过用头部撞击自己所在的洞穴上方告诫其他鼹鼠走远点。



　　Sometimes making the right sound can be a matter of life and death. With some spiders, including the black widow, the male is much smaller than the female. When the male wants to approach a female to mate, he climbs onto her web and then steps carefully to vibrate2 the web in a certain pattern. This vibration tells the female: “I'm not dinner. I'm one of your kind.”

　　有时候能否发出正确的声音是一件事关生死的事情。在某些蜘蛛群里——例如“黑寡妇”蜘蛛——雄蜘蛛的个头要比雌蜘蛛小得多。在雄蜘蛛需要与雌蜘蛛交配的时候，它会爬到雌蜘蛛的网上，小心地踩住，用一种特定的方式晃动蛛网。这样就等于告诉后者：“我不是什么大餐，我是你的同类！”

　　Anyone who has used a dog whistle knows that dogs can hear sounds pitched so high that humans can't hear them. Other animals, such as cats, bats, moles, hedgehogs3, and dolphins, can also hear high-pitched sounds, or ultrasounds4.

　　如果有谁用过狗哨，那他一定知道狗能够听到音调很高的声音，而人却办不到。其他动物如猫、蝙蝠、鼹鼠、刺猬和海豚也能够听到高音调的声音或者是超声波。

　　触摸



　　Animals use touch to communicate in many ways. Biting, kicking, and hitting send obvious messages, but touch can also be used in friendly ways. Chimpanzees5 will touch hands to greet each other. Many primates6 groom7 each other as a way to show friendship, removing bits of dirt or insects from each other's fur. Elephants touch trunks in greeting.

　　动物们也可以通过触摸进行多种交流。撕咬和踢打都可以发出很明显的信息，但是触摸也是一种友好的方式。黑猩猩就是通过触摸对方的手互致问候的。很多灵长类动物表达友谊的一种方式是为对方清除身体上的污垢和虱子，以将毛皮弄干净。大象们则通过碰鼻子来表达问候。

　　目视

　　Elephants also use their trunks for signals. A baby elephant will raise its trunk in the air when it wants attention from its mother. Body language is important to other creatures, too. When a gorilla is startled, it may stand still and shake its head back and forth. This means it does not intend to harm you. A chimpanzee will wear a special “play face” when it wants to let you know it's friendly.

　　大象也用鼻子来发信号。象宝宝如果想要引起象妈妈的注意，它会把它的鼻子高高举起。身体语言对于其他的动物同样重要。要是一只大猩猩受到了惊吓，它会站着不动，同时来回不停地摇晃它的脑袋，表示它并无恶意。而黑猩猩在表示友好的时候，它脸上会显现出一副特殊的“滑稽”表情。

　　Some creatures even put their message in lights. Each type of firefly has its own flashing code. This helps males and females find mates of the same species. The lights not only tell what kind of firefly it is, they also guide the insects to each other. Color can also be important. The cuttlefish turns different colors to show how it feels. When it's ready to fight, it turns a dark color. Its colors change quickly when it is agitated8.

　　有些动物则通过发出光来传递信息。每一种萤火虫都有自己的发光代码，这样可以帮助它们在同类中求偶。所发出的光不仅有助于辨别种类，还能起到相互引导的作用。颜色的作用也举足轻重。墨鱼会通过变色来表达自身的感受。当它准备要大打出手时，它会变成黑色。激动时，它们的颜色则变化得非常快。

　　Some bears and tigers leave visual signs. They put scratch marks on a tree as high up as they can. When another bear or tiger comes along, it may discover it can't make marks that high. That tells the visiting animal that the tiger or bear that made the marks is bigger and should be left alone.

　　某些熊和老虎会留下明显的标志。它们一般都在树上尽可能高的地方留下爪印。当其他的熊或者老虎想要尾随而来时，它可能发现无法在更高的地方印下印记。这就意味着爪印高的熊或老虎体形比自己要大，最好不要去招惹它。

　　气味

　　Another way to communicate without actually being there is through smell. A gazelle has special scent glands9 near its eyes that it rubs on branches to mark its territory. When other gazelles10 pick up the smell, they realize that this territory has already been claimed. Many animals mark territory by smell, including domestic cats and their wild cousins.

　　另外一种不需要面对面交流的方式是通过气味进行的。瞪羚的眼部附近有特殊的臭腺。它们用这个部位不断摩擦树枝，以此标明自己的领地。其他的瞪羚嗅到这种气味后，它们就会明白此地已有归属。许多动物就是用气味画地为牢的，这其中包括家猫和野猫。

蓝色羽毛

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人和名都厚道

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