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KaeliSwift_2020X-_乌鸦带给我们的死亡启发_-

Whether we want to or not, humans spend a great deal of time considering death. 无论我们想不想, 人类往往会花很多时间 考虑死亡这件事。
And it's possible we've been doing so since shortly after homo sapiens first began roaming the landscape . 而且这样的想法很可能 在智人首次在陆地上迁移后不久 就已经出现了。
After all, the first intentional human burial is thought to have occurred around 100,000 years ago. 毕竟,据说人类 第一个有意举行的葬礼 发生在十万年前。
a great deal of:大量; homo sapiens:n.智人(现代人类); roaming:n.漫游;移动;v.漫步;闲逛;徘徊(roam的现在分词); landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境; intentional:adj.故意的;蓄意的;策划的; occurred:v.发生;出现;存在于;出现在;(occur的过去分词和过去式)
What might those early people have been thinking as they took the time to dig into the earth, deposit the body and carefully cover it up again? 早期人类花时间 在地上挖一个洞, 把一具尸体放到洞中, 再小心地用土覆盖上去的时候, 他们到底在想些什么?
Were they trying to protect it from scavengers or stymie the spread of disease ? 他们是在防止食腐动物破坏尸体, 还是在防止疾病传播?
Were they trying to honor the deceased ? 他们在缅怀逝者吗?
Or did they just not want to have to look at a dead body? 还是他们只是不想看到遗体?
deposit:n.订金; v.放下; scavengers:n.食腐动物;清道夫;[助剂]清除剂;拾荒者; stymie:vt.从中作梗,阻挠;妨碍;n.妨碍球; disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病; deceased:adj.死去了的;已死的;n.死者;
Without the advent of a time machine , we may never know for sure what those early people were thinking, but one thing we do know is that humans are far from alone in our attention towards the dead. 在时光机器出现之前, 我们可能永远不知道 当时人们是怎么想的, 但我们可以肯定的一点是, 重视死亡的不止是人类。
Like people, some animals, including the corvids, the family of birds that houses the crows , ravens , magpies and jays , also seem to pay special attention to their dead. 跟人类相似,有的动物, 比如柯维鸟科, 像乌鸦、渡鸦、喜鹊和松鸦, 也很关注它们的死者。
advent:n.到来;出现;基督降临;基督降临节; time machine:n.时间机器; crows:n.[鸟]乌鸦(crow的复数形式);望风者;v.啼叫;吹嘘(crow的三单形式); ravens:n.乌鸦(raven的复数);低质煤; magpies:n.喜鹊(magpie的复数形式); jays:n.鸟,松鸡;橿鸟(jay的复数形式);
In fact, the rituals of corvids may have acted as the inspiration for our own. 其实,柯维鸟家庭的仪式 可能启发了 人类自己的仪式。
After all, it was the raven that God sent down to teach Cain how to bury his slain brother Abel. 毕竟,是上帝派乌鸦下来教该隐 怎么埋葬他过世的弟弟,亚伯的。
But despite this clear recognition by early people that other animals attend to their dead, it's only fairly recently that science has really turned its attention towards this phenomenon . 尽管古人对其他动物处理死者 有这种清晰的认知, 但这些现象在最近 才引起科学的注意。
Cain:n.该隐(亚当之子);凶手;杀兄弟者; bury:v.埋葬;隐藏; slain:v.杀死(slay的过去分词); despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; recognition:n.识别;认识;承认;认可; fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直; recently:adv.最近;新近; phenomenon:n.现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物);
In fact, a formal name for this field -- comparative thanatology -- wasn't first introduced until 2016. 实际上,这个学科的正式名称—— “比较死亡学”—— 直到 2016 年才被引入。
In this growing field, we are beginning to appreciate what a rich place the natural world is with respect to how other animals interact with their dead, and it's in this growing body of knowledge that that time machine to our early ancestors might be possible. 在这个发展中的领域, 我们开始意识到地球上 不同动物在对待死者 这个主题上的多样性, 并且这些逐渐积累的知识 可以让我们对祖先 有更多的了解。
formal:adj.适合正式场合的; n.(美)须穿礼服的社交集会; (口)夜礼服; comparative:adj.比较的;相当的;n.比较级;对手; thanatology:n.临终学;死亡学; appreciate:v.欣赏;感激;感谢;理解; with respect:怀有敬意; interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息;
So what are we learning in this growing field? 那么我们在这个领域学到了什么?
Well, right now we can split our understanding into two main groups. 我们可以先把 我们的知识分成两大类。
In the first, we have animals that display stereotyped , predictable behaviors towards their dead, and for whom much of what we understand about them comes from experimental studies. 第一,是那些对死者表现出 刻板、可预测行为的动物, 我们对它们的了解大多来自 实验研究。
split:v.分离;使分离;劈开;离开;分解;n.劈开;裂缝;adj.劈开的; display:n.显示;炫耀;vt.显示;表现;陈列;vi.[动]作炫耀行为;adj.展览的;陈列用的; stereotyped:adj.用铅版印刷的; v.把…浇铸成铅版; predictable:adj.可预言的; experimental:adj.实验的;根据实验的;试验性的;
This group includes things like the social insects -- bees and ants and termites -- and for all of these animals, colony hygiene is of critical importance, 这些群体包括社会类昆虫—— 比如蜜蜂、蚂蚁,还有白蚁—— 对所有这些动物来说, 群体卫生至关重要,
and so as a result these animals display rigorous undertaking behaviors in response to corpses . 因此,这些动物对死尸表现出了 严格的责任行为。
For example, they may physically remove carcasses from the colony. 例如,它们可能会把死尸 从群居中移走,
They may consume them. 也可能吃掉它们。
termites:n.白蚁;(termite的复数) colony:n.殖民地;移民队; hygiene:n.卫生;卫生学;保健法; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的; as a result:结果; rigorous:adj.严格的,严厉的;严密的;严酷的; undertaking:n.事业;企业;保证;殡仪业;v.同意;担任;许诺;(undertake的现在分词) in response to:响应;回答;对…有反应; corpses:n.尸体(corpse的复数形式); carcasses:n.尸体;兽体(carcass的复数形式); consume:v.消耗;吃;毁灭;烧毁;
They may even construct tombs. 甚至会为死去的同伴建造坟墓。
We see similar hygiene-driven responses in some colony-living mammals . 我们在一些生活在聚居区的哺乳动物身上 也看到了类似的卫生驱动反应。
Rats, for example, will reliably bury cage-mates that have been dead for 48 hours. 例如,老鼠会很负责地埋葬 去世 24 小时的笼中同伴。
construct:v.建造;创建;建筑;修建;n.概念;构筑物;结构体;建造物; responses:n.回答,答复;反应;响应;(response的复数) mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数) reliably:adv.可靠地;确实地;
In our other group, we have animals that display more variable , perhaps more charismatic behaviors, and for whom much of what we understand about them comes from anecdotes by scientists or other observers . 在另一些群体中,动物的行为 则表现得更加多样化, 或者更具魅力, 我们对它们的了解 多来自科学家 或其他观察者的趣闻轶事。
This is the animals whose death behaviors 我猜人们对这种动物
I suspect might be more familiar to folks. 对待死者的行为可能更为熟悉。
It includes organisms like elephants, which are well-known for their attendance to their dead, even in popular culture. 这包括大象这样的生物, 它们以悼念死者而闻名, 即使在流行文化中。
variable:n.变量;可变因素;可变情况;adj.多变的;易变的;变化无常的;可更改的; charismatic:adj.超凡魅力的;神赐能力的; anecdotes:n.奇闻轶事(anecdote的复数); observers:n.观察者(observer的复数); suspect:n.犯罪嫌疑人;v.怀疑;不信任;adj.可疑的; familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友; organisms:n.[生物]生物体(organism的复数);[生物]有机体; well-known:adj.著名的;众所周知的;清楚明白的; attendance:n.出席;到场;出席人数;
In fact, they're even known to be attracted to the bones of their deceased. 实际上,它们甚至会被 死者的尸骨所吸引。
It also includes animals like primates , which display a wide variety of behaviors around their dead, from grooming them to prolonged attention towards them, guarding them, even the transportation of dead infants . 这也包括灵长类动物, 它们对死者也表现出了 非常多样化的行为。 从为它们梳毛 到长时间关注它们, 守卫它们, 甚至携带死婴行走。
And that's actually a behavior we've seen in a number of animals, like the dolphins for example. 我们在很多动物身上 都看到过类似的行为, 比如海豚。
You may remember the story of Tahlequah, the orca in the resident J pod in the Puget Sound, who during the summer of 2018 carried her dead calf for an unprecedented 17 days. 你可能还记得 Tahlequah 的故事, 它是普吉特湾 J 族中的 一头逆戟鲸。 2018 年夏天, 它托着她死去的幼崽 度过了史无前例的 17 天。
primates:n.灵长类; variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化; grooming:n.打扮;装束;刷洗;梳毛;v.擦洗;理毛;使作好准备;培养;(groom的现在分词) prolonged:adj.长期的;持久的;v.延长(prolong的过去分词和过去式); transportation:n.运输;运输系统;运输工具;流放; infants:n.婴儿(infant的复数);婴幼儿; orca:n.逆戟鲸(等于Orcinusorca);类逆戟鲸;兽人;魔鬼; resident:adj.居住的;住院医师;定居的;n.居民; calf:n.小牛;牛犊;腓肠;小腿肚; unprecedented:adj.空前的;无前例的;
Now, a story like that is both heartbreaking and fascinating , but it offers far more questions than it does answers. 这样的故事 让人心碎而又着迷, 但它引出的问题远远多于答案。
For example, why did Tahlequah carry her calf for such a long period of time? 比如,为什么Tahlequah 要携带它死去的幼崽 如此长的时间?
Was she just that stricken with grief ? 她是如此伤心吗?
Was she more confused by her unresponsive infant? 她是因为自己的婴儿 不能反应而困惑吗?
heartbreaking:adj.令人心碎的;使人悲痛的; fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词) grief:n.悲痛;忧伤;不幸; confused:adj.困惑的; v.使糊涂; (confuse的过去分词和过去式) unresponsive:adj.反应迟钝的;无反应的;
Or is this behavior just less rare in orcas than we currently understand it to be? 还是说这种行为在逆戟鲸中 并不像我们现在 所理解的那样罕见?
But for a variety of reasons, it's difficult to do the kinds of experimental studies in an animal like an orca, or many of these other large mammals, that might elucidate those kinds of questions. 但因为种种原因, 我们很难在逆戟鲸 或其他大型哺乳动物身上进行 这类有可能回答 这些问题的实验研究。
orcas:n.逆戟鲸;兽人(orca的复数); currently:adv.当前;一般地; elucidate:vt.阐明;说明;
So instead, science is turning to an animal whose behaviors around death we've been thinking about since BCE: the crows. 因此,科学把目光转向一种动物, 我们从公元前就开始思考 它们对待死者的行为: 那就是乌鸦。
Like insects and primates, crows also seem to pay special attention to their dead. 跟昆虫和灵长类动物类似, 乌鸦也对死者特别关注。
Typically , this manifests as the discovering bird alarm calling, like you can see in this photo, followed by the recruitment of other birds to the area to form what we call a mob . 最典型的表现就是 发出鸟类的警鸣, 和这张照片中的画面类似, 随后是召唤其他鸟来到这个区域, 形成了我们所说的“乌合之众”。
But it can be a little different than that too. 但实际场景也可能 跟照片有点不同。
For example, I've had people share with me seeing prolonged silent vigils by crows in response to deceased or dying crows. 举个例子,有人跟我分享说看到 乌鸦长时间对垂死或死去的乌鸦 沉默守候的情景。
Typically:adv.代表性地;作为特色地; manifests:vt.证明,表明; vi.显示,出现; n.载货单,货单; adj.显然的,明显的; recruitment:n.补充;征募新兵; mob:n.人群;(尤指)暴民;一群;一帮;v.(鸟群或兽群)围攻;围拢; different than:不同于; vigils:n.守夜;监视;不眠;警戒;
I've even had people tell me of witnessing crows place objects like sticks and candy wrappers on or near the bodies of dead crows. 有人还告诉我,乌鸦会把 树枝和糖纸放到 死去乌鸦的身上或身旁。
And this mix of observations puts these birds in a really important place in our scheme , because it suggests on the one hand they might be like the insects, displaying these very predictable behaviors, 这些不同的观察让这种鸟 在我们的计划上占有重要地位, 因为这意味着,一方面, 它们可能跟昆虫一样, 表现出非常可预测的行为,
witnessing:v.当场看到,目击;是发生…的地点;见证;(witness的现在分词) wrappers:n.封装器;面皮(wrapper的复数形式); observations:n.观察,观察值;观察结果;(observation的复数形式); scheme:n.计划;方案;体系;体制;阴谋;v.密谋;图谋;想;认为; on the one hand:一方面; displaying:v.陈列;展出;展示;显露(display的现在分词)
but on the other hand we have this handful of observations that are more difficult to explain and feel a bit more like what we see in some of the mammals like primates and elephants. 但在另一方面, 我们的有些观察 很难得到合理的解释, 感觉有点像我们看到的 一些灵长类动物和 大象这类哺乳动物。
And like those animals, crows share an extremely large relative brain size and the kinds of dynamic social lives that might invite more complexity in how they respond to their dead. 并且跟这些动物一样, 乌鸦大脑的体积也相对更大, 并且这种动态的社会生活 可能会让它们 对待死者的方式更加复杂。
on the other hand:另一方面; extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; relative:adj.相对的;有关系的;成比例的;n.亲戚;相关物;[语]关系词;亲缘植物; dynamic:n.动力; adj.充满活力的; complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势 respond:vi.回答;作出反应;承担责任;n.应答;唱和;
So I wanted to try to understand what was going on when crows encounter a dead crow, and what this might teach us about the role of death in their world, and possibly the worlds of other animals as well, even those early versions of ourselves. 所以我想搞清楚当乌鸦 遇到死去的同伴时, 到底会发生什么, 以及这能否告诉我们,死亡到底 在它们的世界中扮演着什么角色, 并且可能事关其他动物, 甚至还有我们的早期版本。
There's a number of different ways that we could explain why crows might be attracted to their dead. 有很多理由可以用来解释 乌鸦为什么会被死者吸引。
For example, maybe it's a social opportunity, a way for them to explore why that individual died, who they were and what impact this is going to have on the neighborhood moving forward. 例如,这也许是个社交契机, 一个让它们探讨死者为什么死亡, 死者是谁, 这会对社区的发展产生 什么影响的方式。
encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见; explore:v.探索:探测:探险: individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的; impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; neighborhood:n.附近;地区;街坊;adj.附近的;
Maybe it's an expression of grief, like our own contemporary funerals . 也许这是一种悲伤的表达, 就像我们现在的葬礼一样。
Or maybe it's a way that they learn about danger in their environment. 或者这可能是它们试探 环境是否危险的一种方式。
While all of those explanations are worth pursuing , and certainly not mutually exclusive , they're not all testable scientific questions. 所有这些解释都是值得探索的, 并且当然不是相互排斥的, 它们都不是可以 进行测试的科学问题。
expression:n.表现,表示,表达; contemporary:n.同时代的人;同时期的东西;adj.当代的;同时代的;属于同一时期的; funerals:n.葬礼;丧礼;出殡;(funeral的复数) pursuing:v.追求;致力于;贯彻;跟踪;追赶;(pursue的现在分词) mutually:adv.互相地;互助; exclusive:adj.独有的;排外的;专一的;n.独家新闻;独家经营的项目;排外者; testable:adj.可试验的;有资格立遗嘱的;可根据遗嘱处理的;有资格作证人的; scientific:adj.科学的,系统的;
But that idea that dead crows might act as cues of danger, that is. 但死去的乌鸦可能意味着危险这一点, 是可以进行测试的。
So as a graduate student, I wanted to explore that question, particularly with respect to two ideas. 作为一名研究生, 我很想探究这个问题, 尤其是其中两点。
The first was whether they might be able to learn new predators , specifically people, based on their association with dead crows. 第一点是,它们能否 习得谁是新的天敌, 特别是人类, 基于他们和死乌鸦的联系。
cues:n.开端,线索;提示,关键;球杆;诱因(cue的复数形式); particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地; predators:n.捕食性动物;实行弱肉强食的人(或机构);掠夺者;(predator的复数) specifically:adv.特别地;明确地; association:n.协会;关联;联想;交往;
And the second was if they might learn places associated with where they find crow bodies. 第二点是,它们能否习得 发现死乌鸦位置的能力。
So to do this, I would go out into some unsuspecting Seattle neighborhood and I would start to feed a breeding pair of crows over the course of three days, and this provided a baseline 为了实现这些,我前往了 一些毫无戒备的西雅图社区, 开始在三天的时间中 投喂一对正在繁殖的乌鸦, 这为乌鸦多快到达
associated:adj.有关联的; v.联想; (associate的过去分词和过去式) unsuspecting:adj.不怀疑的;未猜想到…的; Seattle:n.西雅图(美国一港市); breeding:n.繁殖;饲养;教养;再生;v.生产;培育;使…繁殖;(breed的现在分词) provided:conj.假如; v.提供; (provide的过去分词和过去式) baseline:n.基线;底线;
for how quickly the crows would come down to a food pile , which, as you'll see in a minute, was really important. 食物堆提供了一个基准, 各位马上就会看到,这点非常重要。
Then, on the fourth day, we would have our funeral. 然后,第四天, 我们会举行葬礼。
This is Linda. 这是琳达。
Linda is one of seven masks whose job was to stand there for 30 minutes with her little hors d'oeuvre plate of dead crow while I documented what happened. 琳达是被放置在实验场地 30 分钟的七个面具人之一, 端着一只死乌鸦, 而我则记录了之后发生的事情。
pile:n.桩;堆;摞;桩柱;v.堆放;摞起;叠放;放置; hors:prep.不必;在…之外;adv.不必;
Most importantly, though, her job was to come back after a week, now without the dead crow, so that we could see if the birds would treat her just like any old pedestrian , 最关键的是, 她的工作是一周后再一次出现, 但不再端着死乌鸦, 这样我们就可以观察鸟儿们 是像对待路人那样对待她,
or if, instead, they would exhibit behaviors like alarm calling or dive bombing that would indicate that they perceived her as a predator. 还是相反,它们会发出报警呼叫 或俯冲轰炸等行为, 把她视为捕食者。
Now, given that we already knew crows were capable of learning and recognizing human faces, it may come as no surprise that the majority of crows in our study 现在我们已知, 乌鸦有学习能力, 并可以识别人类面孔, 那么我们研究的大多数乌鸦
treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣; pedestrian:adj.徒步的;缺乏想像力的;n.行人;步行者; exhibit:v.展览;表现;展出;n.陈列品;(在法庭上出示的)物证; dive:n.潜水;跳水;俯冲;猛冲;v.猛冲;(头朝下)跳入水中;[体]跳水(运动); indicate:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示; perceived:v.注意到;意识到;将…视为;认为;(perceive的过去式和过去分词) capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的; recognizing:v.认识;认出;承认;接受,赞成(recognize的现在分词) majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人:
did treat the masks that they saw handling dead crows as threats when they saw them over the course of the next six weeks. 在未来的 6 周中 把端着死乌鸦的面孔 视为威胁就不让人惊讶了。
Now, if you're sitting there thinking, alright, give me a break, look at that face, it is terrifying , anyone would treat that as a threat if they saw it walking down the street, know that you are not alone. 如果你们现在正在想, 得了吧, 看看这个面孔,多可怕呀, 如果人们走在街上看到她, 都会将其视为威胁, 不是只有你会这样看。
As it turns out, a lot of the folks whose houses we did these experiments in front of felt the same way, but we'll save that for another time. 结果,让我们在他们的家门口 进行这个实验的人中, 很多人都有同样的感觉, 但这就是另一个话题了。
So you may be comforted to know that we did control tests to make sure that crows don't share our preconceived bias against masks that look a bit like the female version of Hannibal Lecter. 好消息是, 我们做了对照测试, 以确保乌鸦不会像我们一样,对有点像 汉尼拔·莱克特(小说中的食人医师)的 女性版面孔抱有偏见。
terrifying:adj.令人恐惧的;骇人的;极大的;v.使害怕,使恐怖;(terrify的现在分词) preconceived:adj.预想的; v.预想(preconceive的过去式和过去分词); bias:adv.使有偏见;n.偏见;偏心;偏爱;v.使有偏见;使偏向;adj.斜的;[电]偏动的; female:adj.女性的;雌性的;柔弱的,柔和的;n.女人;[动]雌性动物;
Now, in addition to finding that crows were able to make associations with people based on their handling of dead crows, we also found that in the days following these funeral events, as we continued to feed them, 那么,除了发现乌鸦可以 对处理死乌鸦的人 产生联系之外, 在这些葬礼事件后仍然 继续喂养它们的日子里, 我们还发现,
that their willingness to come down to the food pile significantly diminished , and we didn't see that same kind of decline in our control groups. 它们飞到食物堆的意愿显着减少, 但我们的对照组并没有 同样水平的减少。
So that suggests that, yes, crows can make associations with particular places where they've seen dead crows. 所以这表明,没错,乌鸦可以 与看到死乌鸦的地方产生联系。
in addition to:除…之外; associations:n.协会,[遗]关联(association复数);关联分析,协会组织; willingness:n.乐意;心甘情愿;自动自发; significantly:adv.意味深长地;值得注目地; diminished:adj.减少的; v.减少; (diminish的过去式和过去分词) decline:v.下降;衰退;减少;谢绝;n.下降;
So together, what that tells us is that while we certainly shouldn't discount those other explanations, we can feel pretty confident in saying that for crows, attention to their dead might be a really important way that these animals learn about danger. 那么这一系列结果表明, 我们显然不该忽视其他解释, 我们可以充满信心地说, 对乌鸦而言,关注死者 可能是这些动物试探危险环境的 非常重要的方式。
And that's a nice, tidy little narrative on which to hang our hats. 这是一个逻辑严谨的小故事, 很有说服力。
But in life and death, things are rarely so neat , and I really came face to face with that in a follow-up experiment, where we were looking at how crows respond to dead crows in the absence of any kind of predator. 但对于生与死, 事情很少如此简单, 在接下来观察 捕食者不在场时 乌鸦对死者做何反应的实验中, 我直击了这个问题。
discount:n.折扣;vt.低估;打折扣;打折出售 confident:adj.自信的;确信的; tidy:adj.整齐的:整洁的:v.使整洁: narrative:n.叙述;故事;讲述;adj.叙事的,叙述的;叙事体的; rarely:adv.很少地;难得;罕有地; neat:adj.整洁的;整齐的;有序的;有条理的; follow-up:adj.后续的;增补的;n.随访;跟进;后续行动; in the absence of:缺乏,不存在;无…时,缺少…时;
And suffice it to say, we found that in these cases, the wakes can get a little more weird . 这样说吧,我们发现 在这些案例中, 乌鸦会变得有些奇怪。
So this is what that experimental setup looks like. 这是实验设置的样子。
You can see our stuffed dead crow alone on the sidewalk , and it's been placed on the territory of a pair. 你可以看到行人道上的乌鸦标本, 它被放在一对乌鸦的领地上。
(Squawk) (尖鸣)
That is the alarm call by one of those territorial birds, and it's coming into frame . 这是其中一只领地鸟 发出的警告, 它开始进入了画面。[10:12]
suffice:vt.使满足;足够…用;合格;vi.足够;有能力; weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; stuffed:adj.饱;装满的;v.填满;装满;给…装馅;(stuff的过去分词和过去式) sidewalk:n.人行道; territory:n.领土,领域;范围;地域;版图; alarm call:n.催醒电话;叫醒电话;(鸟兽遇险时发出的)报警鸣叫;告警声; territorial:adj.领土的;区域的;土地的;地方的;n.地方自卫队士兵; frame:n.框架; v.设计; adj.有木架的;
Pretty soon, its mate is going to join it. 很快,它的配偶加入进来。
And so far, this is all very usual. 到目前为止,这些行为都很常见。
This is what crows do. 这些是乌鸦的行为。
OK, right now it's getting a little less usual. 好吧,现在有些不太正常了。
Not everyone here might be familiar with what bird sex looks like, so if you are not, this is what it looks like. 并非每个人都熟悉 乌鸦交配的样子, 如果你不熟悉,大概就是这样子。
You're basically seeing a confluence of three behaviors: alarm, as indicated by the alarm calling; aggression , as indicated by the very forceful pecking 基本上你看到的是 三种行为的混合: 警报,类似报警呼叫; 攻击性,体现在交配的鸟儿
by both one of the copulatory birds and one of the excited bystanders; and sexual arousal . 强有力的啄食行为上, 以及一个兴奋的旁观者; 还有性兴奋。
Clearly, this is startling , and interesting to think about and talk about. 显然,这很让人吃惊, 很容易引起思考和讨论。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; confluence:n.(河流的)汇合,汇流点;(人或物的)聚集; indicated:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示;示意;(indicate的过去分词和过去式) aggression:n.侵略;侵犯;攻击性;好斗情绪; forceful:adj.强有力的;有说服力的;坚强的; pecking:v.啄;鹐;匆匆地轻吻;(peck的现在分词) copulatory:adj.交配的; sexual:adj.性的;性别的;有性的; arousal:n.觉醒;激励; startling:adj.惊人的;让人震惊的;极鲜亮的;v.使惊吓;使吓一跳;(startle的现在分词)
But if our goal is to understand the big picture of how animals interact with their dead, then the most important question we should ask is, is this representative ? 但我们的目标是理解 动物如何与它们的死者 互动的整体情况, 那我们该问的最重要问题是, 这具有代表性吗?
Is this something that's happening consistently ? 这是会持续发生的事情吗?
And that's why being able to do systematic studies with crows is so valuable , because after conducting hundreds of these trials, where I was placing these dead crows out on the sidewalks on the territories of hundreds of different pairs, what we found was that, no, it's not. 这就是为何对乌鸦 进行系统研究 是如此有价值, 因为在进行数百次这些实验, 把死乌鸦放在数百对不同的 乌鸦领地的路旁后, 我们发现,不是的, 这些都并非是持续的行为。
representative:n.代表; adj.典型的; consistently:adv.一贯地;一致地;坚实地; systematic:adj.系统的;体系的;有系统的;[图情]分类的;一贯的,惯常的; valuable:adj.有价值的;贵重的;可估价的;n.贵重物品; conducting:v.组织;安排;实施;指挥;引导;导游(conduct的现在分词) sidewalks:n.人行道; territories:n.地区;领土;边疆区(territory的复数);
Contact of any kind, whether it was sexual, aggressive or even just exploratory , only occurred 30 percent of the time. 任何形式的接触, 不管是交配、攻击, 甚至只是探究, 发生的几率只有 30%。
So given that this wasn't representative, this was the minority , we may be tempted to just dismiss it as irrelevant , odd , creepy , weird crow behavior. 所以鉴于这些行为 不具有代表性, 只是少数情况, 我们可能会忽略它 为不相关的、奇怪的, 令人毛骨悚然的乌鸦行为。
Contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系; aggressive:adj.侵略性的;好斗的;有进取心的;有闯劲的; exploratory:adj.勘探的;探究的;考察的; minority:n.少数民族;少数派;未成年;adj.少数的;属于少数派的; tempted:adj.想做…的; v.引诱; (tempt的过去分词和过去式) dismiss:v.不予考虑;摒弃;消除;解雇; irrelevant:adj.不相干的;不切题的; odd:adj.古怪的;奇数的;n.奇数; creepy:adj.令人毛骨悚然的;爬行的;
But what may surprise you is that behaviors like aggression or even sexual arousal aren't all that rare, and certainly aren't constrained to just crows. 但可能会让你惊讶的是, 攻击性, 甚至性兴奋, 都并不罕见, 当然也不仅限于乌鸦。
Because while the popular narrative when it comes to animal death behaviors tends to focus on affiliative behaviors like grooming or guarding, that is far from the complete list of what even our closest relatives do around their dead. 因为当谈到动物 对待死者的行为时,主流叙事 倾向于关注梳毛或守卫 这些友好的行为, 但这些行为与 我们的近亲对待死者的方式 依然相去甚远。
constrained:adj.不自然的; v.约束; (constrain的过去分词和过去式) relatives:n.亲戚;亲属;同类事物;(relative的复数)
In fact, we've documented behaviors like biting, beating and even sex itself in a wide variety of animals, including many primates and dolphins. 事实上,我们记录到了 各种各样的动物, 包括许多灵长类动物 和海豚在内的 诸如咬、打,甚至性本身的行为,
So where does this leave us in our understanding of animals and their death rituals? 那么这对我们理解动物 和它们的死亡仪式 提供了什么启示呢?
Well, for crows, it suggests that, like insects, they may have a strong adaptive driver in their interest in their dead. 对乌鸦来说,这意味着, 像昆虫一样,它们对死者的兴趣中 有强烈的适应性驱动。
In this case, it might be danger learning, and that might have acted as the inspiration for our own rituals as well. 在这个案例中, 它可能是习得危险, 这可能也是 我们人类仪式的 灵感来源。
But when we look more closely, we see that there's no one simple narrative that can explain the vast array of behaviors we see in crows and many other animals. 但当我们更仔细地观察, 就会发现,并不存在 一个简单的叙事, 能够解释我们在乌鸦 和很多其他动物上 看到的大量多样化行为。
adaptive:adj.适应的,适合的; array:n.数组,阵列;排列,列阵;大批,一系列;衣服;v.排列,部署;打扮;
And that suggests that we are still far from completing that time machine. 这也意味着,我们离 完成时间机器还为时过早。
But it's going to be a really fascinating ride. 但这将会是一段 非常令人着迷的旅程。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) (鼓掌)