動物世界當中的十大奇葩瘋狂事(上)

The animal world is generally a practical place. You have to be practical when you're just trying to survive, after all. When you're worried about where your next meal is coming from, whether or not your genes will survive in your young, and what's hiding around the corner waiting to eat you, there's usually not enough time for creativity. There are some animals, though, that scientists have found doing some pretty inexplicable stuff—some of it is downright weird.

動物世界是一個物競天擇，適者生存的戰場。畢竟，當你想方設法只爲在這場爭奪戰中獲得一席生存之地的時候，你就不得不爲了現實因素而考慮。當你爲下一頓午餐發愁時，當你爲能否順利繁衍後代而擔憂時，以及無時無刻不在警惕是否有捕食者在某個角落虎視眈眈時，在這些時刻，除了生存下去，你根本就無暇顧及其他。儘管如此，科學家們還是發現了動物們會做一些非常令人費解的事情——其中有些事情既奇葩又瘋狂。

Seals Mating With Penguins

10.與企鵝交配的海豹

In 2006, researchers observing the native species of Marion Island in Antarctica saw something pretty baffling—a fur seal attempting to mate with a king penguin. They made note of it in their research, treating it as an independent incident. At the time, they suspected it was something rather accidental, maybe playtime gone horribly wrong, or mealtime gone horribly wrong.

2006年，研究者們在觀察南極Marion島上的本地物種時，發現了一件很令人費解的事情——一隻海豹正試圖與一隻帝企鵝進行交配。研究者們將這件事記錄下來，以便作爲單獨探討的例子研究分析。研究人員更傾向於認爲這是一起偶然事件，或者是互相遊戲玩耍時過了火，亦或是午餐進食時出了亂子。

But more recently, representatives of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, have seen it happening again. And again. And again. It's always brutal, and in at least one observed instance it ended with the seal killing and eating the penguin. Before 2006, fur seals and their closely related species had never been observed trying to mate with something outside of their own classification, so it seems as though they're learning the behavior. There has been considerable research done on the island for more than 30 years, and the sudden upstart of this behavior has scientists baffled. There are some suggestions of what's going on, but they're just guesses. The lack of females on the beach might be forcing young males to focus their attention elsewhere, but the typical reasons for cross-species mating don't seem to factor in. In some cases, cross-species sex can result in hybridized young, like mules, but that's definitely not the case here.

但是最近，南非比勒陀利亞大學哺乳動物研究學院的代表們接二連三地目睹了這一現象的發生。然而現實是殘酷的，在至少有一次目擊事件中，海豹在與企鵝交配完成後將其殺死並吃掉。在2006年以前，人們從未發現海豹以及其近親物種有過與自己物種以外的動物進行交配的經歷。所以海豹的這種行爲看上去像是它們通過學習獲得的。在這之前，研究人員已經在這座島上進行了30多年的大量實驗研究，而這一情況的出現使得科學家們深陷迷霧。人們對於這一現象給出了許多意見和建議，但也僅僅只是猜想而已。雌性海豹數量的缺乏，也可能是導致年輕雄性海豹將注意力轉到其他物種身上的原因。但是一些特殊的關於動物雜交的原因似乎都不能作爲海豹和企鵝進行交配的重要因素。在某些情況下，跨物種的交配能繁衍出雜交的後代，比如騾子。但顯然海豹和企鵝的交配不屬於這種情況。

ective Baboon Apathy

9.集體性沉默的狒狒

In 2013, a typically rambunctious colony of baboons at the Emmen Zoo in the Netherlands was struck by a bizarre case of mass hysteria. All their regular antics—playing, fighting, greeting their treat-bearing keepers—stopped, and they simply sat.

所有它們日常的活動——嬉戲玩耍，打鬧鬥毆，互相問候——突然間都停止了，然後就這樣安靜地坐在那兒。

The odd event started with a massive burst of chaos. Then nothing. One group sat high up in a tree and refused to do anything, and the apathy spread throughout the whole colony. This wasn't the the first time that it's happened. In 1994, 1997, and 2007, similar occurrences of mass apathy happened in the same group of baboons. During the previous episode, they all sat motionless in their enclosure, looking off in the same direction. They didn't eat and they didn't socialize. They just sat. Nothing similar has happened in any other zoos, and it hasn't been linked to a unique quality or characteristic in the dominant member of the group—the dominant member has changed between the episodes. Slowly, the baboons came out of their trance-like state. Younger baboons started acting up again, older baboons resumed their parenting duties, and gradually, they all got hungry and started looking for food again. There's been a wide range of theories about just what was going on with the baboons. It could be minor, undetected earthquakes, or a random fright that might have been as simple as someone wearing a scary T-shirt. These theories have been thrown around, but none have been proven as explanations for the baboons of the Emmen Zoo to sink into their occasional funk.

剛開始，狒狒們還是一陣陣地喧鬧，過了一會兒，突然整體的什麼聲音都沒有了。有一羣坐在樹上的狒狒拒絕做任何事情，接着這種沉默傳染至整個族羣。這種情況並不是第一次發生。1994年，1997年，以及2007年，同樣的集體性沉默的情況都發生在與上述相同的一羣狒狒身上。在之前提到的集體沉默中，狒狒們全都一動不動地坐在它們的領地範圍內，視線都望向同一個方向。它們不進食，也不嬉戲打鬧，就這麼靜坐着。除此之外，沒有任何一家其他的動物園出現過類似狀況，這種行爲和主導羣體的性格個性並沒有什麼關係——因爲不同的集體沉默現象的發生都由不同的主導羣體引導的。之後，狒狒們逐漸地從這種凝神發呆的狀態中醒過來。年輕的狒狒們最開始恢復了平時的嬉戲打鬧，接着，年齡較長的狒狒們恢復了它們照顧後代的狀態，漸漸地，所有的狒狒們都開始感到飢餓，又重新開始了尋覓食物。對於狒狒們的這種狀態，人們有很多種說法。出現這種狀況的原因有可能是發生了輕微地不易令人察覺的地震，亦或許是某個人穿了一件誇張嚇人的T恤使得狒狒們產生驚恐的情緒。雖然這些理論時常被人拿來討論，但是無一例能夠證明埃門動物園的狒狒們偶爾陷入放空沉默的現象發生的原因。

ges In Blue Whale Songs

8.改變歌唱音調的藍鯨

For decades, scientists have been recording the songs of the ocean's blue whales. But there's something strange going on—not with the song itself, but with the whales. Every year, their voices are getting deeper and deeper.

幾十年來，科學家們一直在爲藍鯨歌唱的音調進行錄音。不過，它們唱歌的音調正在發生奇怪的變化——倒不是說歌唱的旋律發生變化，而是鯨魚們本身的唱歌音調發生了變化。每一年，藍鯨們的歌唱音調都要比上一年變得更低。

The pitch is changing by such a drastic amount that scientists making the recordings need to calibrate their equipment every year to ensure they can even pick up the songs. Recording devices switch on when they pick up a certain frequency, and that frequency is changing. It's happening worldwide, too. It's not just one certain group of whales, but rather whales all over the oceans that are demonstrating singing voices that are getting deeper. Scientists first noticed the changes in pitch in the 1960s, and the songs have sunk in pitch by about 30 percent since then. No one knows why it's happening. Some think that it was something to do with the need to overcome competing ocean noises that have increased over the last few decades, while others think it might be in response to a change in water temperature, composition, or climate. It might have something to do with a change in the density of whale population, or in the way that they're selecting mates. No one can say for sure.

由於藍鯨的發聲音高發生了很大的變化，科學家們每年在錄製音頻時都不得不重新校準錄音設備，以便能夠保證錄到鯨魚們的歌唱。當錄音設備捕捉到特定頻率的音調時就開始進行錄音，而這個頻率還在不斷地變化。世界範圍內的鯨魚的音調都在發生這變化。不只有特定的某種鯨魚種羣在發生變化，所有海域內的鯨魚們都在發生這變化：它們歌唱的音調正在逐漸變低。科學家們在1960年第一次發現了它們發聲音高的變化，自此以後，鯨魚們的發生音調已經下降了大約百分之三十。沒有人知道爲什麼會發生這樣的變化。一部分人認爲這是爲了克服過去幾十年來日益嘈雜的海洋噪聲，另一部分人認爲這應該和水溫變化，水成份變化，或水文氣候變化有關。這也可能和鯨魚數量密度的變化，或和它們選擇交配伴侶的方式有關。總之，沒有人能夠準確地斷定鯨魚歌唱音調變化的原因。

le Chickens Changing Sex

7.轉換性別的母雞

There are a few animal species that will change sexes, usually when there are no opposite-gender members of the species available. In that case, it makes sense for the survival of the group. But in the case of chicken sex changes, the process is a little different.

很少有動物種類會轉換性別，通常情況下，在異性成員不足的物種中才會存在這種現象。爲了更好地進行繁衍生息，這種轉換性別的現象也就不難理解了。不過，對於轉換性別的雞來說，這個過程又有點不同。

Female chickens can undergo natural sex changes, but only take on the mannerisms and appearance of a male bird—they're not actually functionally male, but only adopting their secondary sex characteristics. Scientists know how this happens, but not kens have two sex organs; in females, one develops into an ovary and one remains dormant. If something happens—anything from a hormonal imbalance to the development of a cyst—it can make the second organ grow and release male hormones. What this means for the previously female chicken is that she'll suddenly stop laying eggs, she'll grow a wattle and a comb, and she'll act like a male. She'll start strutting and crowing, but she won't mate with other females because she's still genetically is known to happen, though not frequently. In 2011, chicken owners in Cambridgeshire, England, saw it happening in their own backyard when one of their hens inexplicably stopped laying eggs and started practicing her crowing. Gertie became Bertie, and while he wasn't very good at it originally, he's become quite the vocal semi-rooster.

母雞可以進行自然的性別轉換，但也僅僅是變換成公雞的習性和外觀——不是在生理構造上變換成公雞，而是在第二性特徵上進行改變。科學家們知道這一轉變的發生過程，並不知道其背後的原因。雞有兩個性器官；母雞的兩個性器官，其中一個長成卵巢，另外一個保持原樣。如果有任何異常情況發生——從荷爾蒙分泌不均到囊腫的生成——這種情況會使另一個性器官發育併產生雄性激素。對於在轉換性別之前的母雞來說，轉換性別成爲公雞就意味着它會停止下蛋，長出肉錘和雞冠，並且生活習性也會和公雞相仿。它會開始像公雞那樣昂首闊步並高聲啼叫，但它並不會和其他的母雞進行交配，因爲從本質上來講它還是母雞的性特徵。下面要說的事它曾經發生過，儘管發生次數很少。2011年，英國劍橋郡的養雞場主發現，在他們自家後院裏，他們養的其中一隻母雞很奇怪地不再生蛋，而是開始不斷地練習啼叫。Gertie變成了Bertie, 雖然起初的練習效果不怎麼樣，但逐漸地已經變成能夠像模像樣啼叫的半個公雞了。

-In-The-Dark Scorpions

6.熒光的蠍子

When scorpions are exposed to ultraviolet light or the strong light of the full moon, they glow. No one knows why they glow, but it's dangerous for the scorpion.

蠍子在紫外線光線下或者在滿月的月光照射下會發光。沒有人知曉爲什麼它們會發光，但是會發光對於蠍子而言，是極其危險的。

Scorpions hunt mostly at night, the same time when their predators are out looking for a meal, too. Owls and some nocturnal rodents hunt and eat scorpions, so it seems pretty illogical that glowing in the dark would be the best choice for nighttime survival. Part of the answer might lie in scorpion eyes, which are best suited to seeing blue-green light. It's possible that their ability to glow in the dark evolved as a way to see each other. It's also been suggested that they're acting in the same way as some deep sea creatures, luring prey toward them with their bioluminescence. A California State University researcher has put forth the idea that scorpions rely on their glowing to indicate when they're out in the open and vulnerable. When the glowing stops, it's suggested, they know they're in the shadow of something that's hiding them from moonlight and safe. The strength of their glow is indicative of whether or not others can see them.

蠍子大多在夜間進行捕食，而這恰恰也是它們的捕食者外出尋找獵物的時間。作爲貓頭鷹以及一些夜間捕食的齧齒動物捕食對象，蠍子在夜間發出熒光的這項特點，似乎與要在夜間衆多捕食者中生存下去這一條件有很大邏輯上的衝突。答案一部分藏在蠍子的眼部。蠍子的眼部最容易看到藍綠色的光線，有可能它們在夜間發光的本領就是爲了讓同伴們看清楚彼此。也有其他的說法認爲，它們和一些深海動物類似，是爲了利用本身發光的特點來引誘獵物上鉤。一位來自加州州立大學的研究人員提出了一個觀點，觀點認爲蠍子是通過自身的發光來告知其它同伴它們正身處空曠地帶並極易受到攻擊。當它們停止發光時，這就說明，它們目前隱藏在避開月光的相對安全的位置。它們的發光強弱決定了其它物種能否能夠看清它們。

翻譯：齊墨； 校對：candy 來源：前十網