科学美国人60秒 SSS 在牛身上画眼睛可阻止捕食者

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Susanne Bard¹.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是苏珊娜·巴德。

In Botswana, farmers graze their cattle at the edge of the Okavango Delta².

在博茨瓦纳，农民在奥卡万戈三角洲边缘放牧。

The region is teeming³ with wildlife, including hungry predators⁵ with a taste for beef.

该地区遍布野生动物，包括喜欢牛肉的饥饿捕食者。

"Lions and leopards⁶, in particular, are ambush⁷ predators. They often rely on the element of surprise to creep up and take down their prey⁸."

“尤其是狮子和豹子，它们是伏击捕食者。它们往往依赖突然袭击和悄悄迫近来抓住猎物。”

University of New South Wales conservation biologist Neil Jordan.

新南威尔士大学的保护生物学家尼尔·乔丹说到。

"Livestock⁹ losses can be crippling to some of these farmers,

“家畜减少可能会对其中一些农民造成严重影响，

and their subsequent retaliatory¹⁰ killing¹¹ of predators in response to that is a major cause of population decline in large carnivores."

因此他们随后会对捕食者进行报复性杀戮，而这是导致大型食肉动物减少的主要原因。”

But what if there were a simple thing farmers could do to cut their losses?

但如果农民能通过做一件简单的事来减少损失，那会怎样？

"The idea came about of painting eyes on the backsides of cows to trick lions and leopards into thinking they've been seen by their would-be prey.

“这个想法来源于在牛的臀部画眼睛，欺骗狮子和豹子，让它们以为它们已被猎物看到。

And once seen, they often abandon the hunt."

一旦被发现，它们往往会放弃捕猎。”

This visionary solution was inspired by nature.

这个视觉解决方案的来源来自大自然。

A variety of species have evolved eyespot markings that thwart¹² deadly adversaries—some frog derrieres feature eyespots, as do the backends of some fish.

各种各样的物种都进化出了能挫败致命对手的眼斑标记，比如有些青蛙的臀部长出眼斑，就像某些鱼类尾巴上有眼斑一样。

Jordan's colleague, Cameron Radford:

乔丹的同事，卡梅隆·雷德福德说：

"Probably the most famous example is on butterflies and moths¹³. They have eyespots in their wings, and these deter¹⁴ predators such as birds from attacking them."

“也许最著名的例子是蝴蝶和蛾子身上的斑纹。它们的翅膀上有眼斑，可以阻止鸟类等捕食者的攻击。”

Even humans are susceptible¹⁵ to eyespots:

即使是人类也容易受到眼斑的影响：

one study found that people are less likely to steal bikes when an image of watchful¹⁶ eyes is displayed near bike racks.

一项研究发现，当自行车依靠架附近有警示的眼睛图像时，人们不太可能偷自行车。

But despite their usefulness, predator⁴-foiling eyespots don't occur naturally in mammals.

尽管眼斑很有用，但阻止捕食者的眼斑并不会在哺乳动物身上自然出现。

To make up for this egregious¹⁷ evolutionary¹⁸ oversight¹⁹, the scientists/cow-butt artists got to work.

为了弥补这一重大进化失误，科学家/牛屁股艺术家开始了工作。

"I can guarantee the cows didn't enjoy the experience.

“我可以保证牛并不享受这种体验。

I mean it, didn't hurt them at all, but herding²⁰ those cows up in the morning for their artificial-eye treatment probably wasn't the most exciting thing for them."

这完全不会伤害它们，但一大早把这些牛赶到一起进行人工眼治疗，可能不是最令它们兴奋的事。”

Over the four-year experiment, the researchers found that not one of the hundreds of cows with eyespots on their keisters was killed by an ambush predator.

历经四年实验，研究人员发现，在数百头屁股上有眼斑的牛中，没有一头被埋伏的捕食者杀死。

But the study also showed that, while less effective, simply painting crude cross marks on the cows deterred²¹ predators better than leaving them au naturel.

但研究还表明，虽然效果不太好，但仅在牛身上画上粗糙的十字记号也比让它们保持自然状态更能制止捕食者。

So perhaps any kind of novel marking can startle an unsuspecting carnivore.

因此，也许任何一种新标记都能吓到毫不设防的食肉动物。

"Farmers can potentially paint their cattle with artificial eyespots or cross marks. But we recommend the eyespots because that was the best result."

“农民可能会在牛上画上人工眼斑或十字记号。但我们推荐眼斑，因为这个效果最好。”

The Botswana Predator Conservation Trust and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia also contributed to this research,

博茨瓦纳捕食者保护信托基金和澳大利亚塔龙加保护协会也为这项研究作出了贡献，

which appeared in the journal Communications Biology.

这项研究发表在《通讯生物学》期刊上。

Ultimately, a little artistic²² license²³ could go a long way to safeguard both livestock herds²⁴ and predators at risk of extinction²⁵.

最终，一个小小的艺术许可证可能对于保护家畜和濒临灭绝的食肉动物都大有帮助。

"Here's looking at you, kid."

“一直在看着你，孩子。”

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Susanne Bard.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是苏珊娜·巴德。

1 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

4 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

5 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

7 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

10 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

13 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

15 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

16 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

17 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

18 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

19 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

20 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

21 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

22 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

23 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

24 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

25 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。