'經濟學人精讀：豹海豹為什麼要與潛水員分享晚餐？'

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Animal behaviour

Leopard seals share their suppers

Bad news if you are a penguin

Leopard seals resemble their terrestrial namesakes in two ways. They have polka-dot pelts. And they are powerful, generally solitary carnivores that are quite capable of killing a human being if they so choose—as has indeed happened once, in 2003, when a British marine biologist was the victim.

豹海豹與陸地上的同名動物有兩個相似之處。他們有圓點花紋的毛皮。它們很強大，食肉動物，通常獨居，如果它們願意的話，完全有能力殺死一個人——就像2003年發生的那樣，當時一位英國海洋生物學家就是受害者。

leopard /ˈlɛpəd/

1. N-COUNT A leopard is a type of large, wild cat. Leopards have yellow fur and black spots, and live in Africa and Asia. 豹

terrestrial /təˈrɛstrɪəl/

1. ADJ Terrestrial means relating to the planet Earth rather than to some other part of the universe. 地球的；陸地的，[生物] 陸生的；

例：...terrestrial life forms.…地球上的生命形態。

namesake /'nemsek/

n. 名義；同名物；同名的人

polka-dot /'pɔlkədɔt/

adj. 帶圓點的 vt. 給…飾圓點花紋

pelt /pɛlt/

1. N-COUNT The pelt of an animal is its skin, which can be used to make clothing or rugs. (動物的) 皮

例：...a bed covered with beaver pelts.…一張鋪著海狸皮的床。

solitary /ˈsɒlɪtərɪ/

1. ADJ A person or animal that is solitary spends a lot of time alone. 獨處的

例：Paul was a shy, pleasant, solitary man.保羅是個靦腆的、討人喜歡的、慣於獨處的人。

carnivore /ˈkɑːnɪˌvɔː/

1. N-COUNT A carnivore is an animal that eats meat. 食肉動物

2. N-COUNT If you describe someone as a carnivore, you are saying, especially in a humorous way, that they eat meat. 肉食者

例：This is a delicious vegetarian dish that even carnivores love.這是一道肉食者們都喜歡的美味素食。

Curiously, though, there have also been reports of leopard seals behaving in a friendly manner towards people—apparently trying to present gifts, in the form of prey, to divers. Until now, there has been no explanation for this philanthropy. But work just published in Polar Biology by James Robbins of Plymouth University, in Britain, suggests that what the seals are actually looking for is a dining partner.

然而，令人好奇的是，也有報道稱豹海豹對人類表現得很友好——很明顯，它們試圖將自己的獵物贈送給潛水員作為禮物。到目前為止，對這種慈善行為還沒有任何解釋。但是，英國普利茅斯大學的詹姆斯·羅賓斯在《極地生物學》上發表的研究表明，豹海豹實際上在尋找的是一個一起吃飯的夥伴。

prey /preɪ/

1. N-UNCOUNT-COLL A creature's prey are the creatures that it hunts and eats in order to live. 獵物

例：Electric rays stun their prey with huge electrical discharges.電鰩釋放大量的電荷將他們的獵物擊昏。

diver /ˈdaɪvə/

1. N-COUNT A diver is a person who swims under water using special breathing equipment. 潛水員

例：Police divers have recovered the body of a sixteen year old boy.警方潛水員已經發現了一個16歲男孩的屍體。

philanthropy /fɪˈlænθrəpɪ/

1. N-UNCOUNT Philanthropy is the giving of money to people who need it, without wanting anything in return. 慈善; 博愛

例：...a retired banker well known for his philanthropy....一位以樂善好施聞名的退休銀行家。

Mr Robbins and his team were studying leopard seals in the waters around South Georgia, an island in the Southern Ocean 1,500km from the tip of the Antarctic peninsula . Instead of diving, or watching from ships, they used to carry out their observations. These drones recorded hitherto unobserved behaviour on the part of the animals.

羅賓斯先生和他的團隊正在南喬治亞島附近海域研究豹海豹。南喬治亞島位於南大洋，距南極半島頂端1500公里。他們不是通過潛水觀察，也不是留在船上觀察，而是使用無人機進行觀察豹海豹。這些無人機記錄了這些動物迄今未被觀察到的行為。

Antarctic /æntˈɑːktɪk/

1. N-PROPER The Antarctic is the area around the South Pole. 南極洲

peninsula /pɪˈnɪnsjʊlə/

1. N-COUNT A peninsula is a long narrow piece of land that sticks out from a larger piece of land and is almost completely surrounded by water. 半島

例：...the political situation in the Korean peninsula.…朝鮮半島的政治局勢。

hitherto /ˈhɪðəˈtuː/

1. ADV You use hitherto to indicate that something was true up until the time you are talking about, although it may no longer be the case. 迄今

例：The ruling party is likely to be opened up to let in people hitherto excluded.執政黨可能會放開政策，吸納迄今被排斥在外的人士。

First, belying their solitary reputation, the seals came together in groups to attack king penguins (twice the size of the gentoo penguin in the photograph) that were entering the sea from a rookery on the island. Second, when a seal did catch a penguin in these circumstances it would sometimes offer to share it with a neighbour in a way reminiscent of divers' tales of gift giving. What looked like an aberration might thus be a normal way of behaving. But why?

首先，與他們孤獨的名聲不相符合的是，豹海豹們成群結隊地攻擊帝企鵝(照片中巴布亞企鵝的兩倍大)，這些帝企鵝正從島上的一個群棲地進入大海。其次，當豹海豹在這種情況下捕捉到企鵝時，它有時會主動提出與鄰居分享，這讓人想起潛水員送禮的故事。因此，看起來異常的行為可能是一種正常的行為方式。但是為什麼呢?

||| 帝企鵝：也稱皇帝企鵝，是企鵝家族中個體最大的物種，一般身高在90釐米以上，最大可達到120釐米，體重可達50千克。其形態特徵是脖子底下有一片橙黃色羽毛，向下逐漸變淡，耳朵後部最深。 |||

||| 巴布亞企鵝，學名：Pygoscelis papua (J. R. Forster, 1781)，又名白眉企鵝、金圖企鵝，體形較大，身長約60-80釐米，重約6公斤，眼睛上方有一個明顯的白斑，嘴細長，嘴角呈紅色，眼角處有一個紅色的三角形，顯得眉清目秀。因其模樣憨態有趣，有如紳士一般，十分可愛，因而俗稱“紳士企鵝” |||

belie /bɪ'laɪ/

vt. 掩飾；與…不符；使失望；證明…虛假錯誤

rookery /'rʊkəri/

n. 假山；貧民窟；（企鵝群）群棲地

reminiscent /ˌrɛmɪˈnɪsənt/

1. ADJ If you say that one thing is reminiscent of another, you mean that it reminds you of it. 令人想起的

例：We drank from wax-coated paper cups reminiscent of a visit to the dentist.我們喝水用的蠟紙杯讓我想起了那次去看牙醫的事。

aberration /ˌæbəˈreɪʃən/

1. N-VAR An aberration is an incident or way of behaving that is not typical. 失常； 反常現象，異常行為

例：It became very clear that the incident was not just an aberration; it was not just a single incident.已經很明確這次事件並不僅僅是一次失常，也不只是一個單獨的事件。

Mr Robbins's suggestion is that sharing a penguin with a neighbour makes it easier to eat. A close look at footage the drones recorded shows that seals in such partnerships take it in turns to feed. One holds the bird tight in its jaws while the other rips off a chunk of flesh and swallows it. Then they swap roles. By contrast, for a lone seal to reduce a penguin to bite-sized chunks means whipping the prey around in its jaws with as much force as it can muster, in order to tear lumps of flesh free from the carcass. This commonly happens, but is thought to be extremely tiring. Better, therefore, to find a buddy and enjoy a meal together.

羅賓斯先生認為，與鄰居分享一隻企鵝會使吃東西更容易。仔細觀察無人機記錄的視頻，可以發現豹海豹在這種夥伴關係中輪流進食。一隻咬住鳥的嘴，另一隻撕下一大塊肉吞了下去。然後他們交換角色。相比之下，對於一隻單獨的海豹來說，要把企鵝咬成一口大小的肉塊，就意味著它要使出最大的力氣把獵物在嘴裡猛咬，以便把肉塊從屍體上撕下來。這種情況經常發生，但被認為是非常累人的。因此，最好是找個朋友一起吃飯。

footage /ˈfʊtɪdʒ/

1. N-UNCOUNT Footage of a particular event is a film of it or the part of a film which shows this event. (描述某一事件的) 片段鏡頭

例：They are planning to show exclusive footage from this summer's festivals.他們計劃獨家播放今年夏季節日活動的片斷鏡頭。

rip off

偷竊；扯掉；欺詐；剝削

chunk /tʃʌŋk/

1. N-COUNT Chunksof something are thick, solid pieces of it. 厚塊

例：They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他們不得不小心漂浮著的厚冰塊。

例：...a chunk of meat.一大塊肉。

flesh /flɛʃ/

1. N-UNCOUNT Flesh is the soft part of a person's or animal's body between the bones and the skin. 肉

例：...the pale pink flesh of trout and salmon.…鱒魚和鮭魚粉白色的肉。

2. N-UNCOUNT You can use flesh to refer to human skin and the human body, especially when you are considering it in a sexual way. 肌膚; 肉體

例：...the warmth of her flesh.…她肌膚的溫暖。

swallow /ˈswɒləʊ/

1. V-T/V-I If you swallow something, you cause it to go from your mouth down into your stomach. 吞嚥

例：You are asked to swallow a capsule containing vitamin B.你被要求吞下一顆含維生素B的膠囊。

swap /swɒp/

1. V-RECIP If you swap something with someone, you give it to them and receive a different thing in exchange. 交換

例：Next week they will swap places and will repeat the switch weekly.下週他們將互換位置，以後將每週換一次。

whip /wɪp/

1. N-COUNT A whip is a long thin piece of material such as leather or rope, fastened to a stiff handle. It is used for hitting people or animals. 鞭子

2. V-T If someone whips a person or animal, they beat them or hit them with a whip or something like a whip. 鞭打

例：Eye-witnesses claimed Mr. Melton whipped the horse up to 16 times.目擊者聲稱梅爾頓先生抽打那匹馬達16鞭之多。

3. V-T If someone whips something out or whips it off, they take it out or take it off very quickly and suddenly. 猛地拿出; 猛地脫掉

例：Bob whipped out his notebook.鮑勃猛地拿出他的筆記本。

muster /ˈmʌstə/

1. V-T If you muster something such as support, strength, or energy, you gather as much of it as you can in order to do something. 聚集 (支持、力量、精力等)

例：He travelled around West Africa trying to muster support for his movement.他走遍西非，努力為他的運動尋求支持。

lump /lʌmp/

1. N-COUNT A lump of something is a solid piece of it. 塊

例：The potter shaped and squeezed the lump of clay into a graceful shape.製陶工人把一塊黏土塑形，壓成漂亮的形狀。

carcass /ˈkɑːkəs

1. N-COUNT A carcass is the body of a dead animal. 動物屍體

例：A cluster of vultures crouched on the carcass of a dead buffalo.一群禿鷲伏在一頭水牛的屍體上啄食。