科学美国人60秒 袋鼠也会像小狗一样恳求人类(2)

“So we came along in 2016 and did the work on goats and showed that, actually, it’s probably a general domestic animal thing.

“因此，我们2016年继续研究，在山羊身上进行了研究，结果表明，一般家畜都会有这种行为。

It’s nothing to do with being domesticated as a companion animal.”

这与宠物被驯化无关。

In a new study, he’s gone even further. Enter—kangaroos?

这项新的研究，还会有突破吗? 例如袋鼠?

“And kangaroos generally haven’t been used for any of that sort of research.

“袋鼠通常不会用于此类任何研究。

I think most people, when I e-mailed them and suggested, ‘Oh, you know, this problem-solving task with kangaroos,’ they thought I was kind of a bit mad or some really eccentric scientist.”

我想大多数人，当我给他们发邮件然后建议说，‘哦，你知道，这个和袋鼠一起解决问题的任务，’ 此时，他们认为我有点疯狂，或者是真正古怪的科学家。”

McElligott rounded up a group of marsupials from three different zoos and sanctuaries.

麦克埃尔利格特从三个不同的动物园和保护区聚集了一群袋鼠。

Of 11 animals tested, 10 of them passed, turning their gaze back to McElligott.

在测试的11只动物中，有10只通过了测试，它们将目光转向了麦克埃尔利格特。

And of the 10 who turned to look at him, nine kangaroos actively shifted their gaze between the box and the human.

在转头看他的10只袋鼠中，有9只袋鼠积极地在盒子和人类之间转换视线。

The results were published in December in the journal Biology Letters.

研究结果于12月发表在《生物学快报》上。

“This domestication hypothesis for all these behaviors, we’ve over-relied on it.

“针对所有这些行为的驯化假设，我们过分相信。

I’m not saying that kangaroos are just as good as dogs or anything like that, but I’m saying the cognitive capabilities of wild animals that are habituated to humans have probably been underestimated.”

我并不是说袋鼠和狗或类似的动物一样擅长，但我说的是，野生动物适应人类的认知能力可能被低估了。”

McElligott says that it’s not enough to study domesticates and their wild counterparts, like dogs and wolves.

麦克埃尔利格特表示，仅仅研究家养动物和它们的野生同类，比如狗和狼，是不够的。

That’s why he decided to try kangaroos, which were never domesticated.

这就是为什么他决定尝试用从未驯化过的袋鼠做研究的原因。

“You can’t deduce the effects of domestication on animal behavior, animal cognition, by only studying domesticated animals.

“你不能仅仅通过研究家养动物来推断驯化对动物行为和认知的影响。

I mean, it sounds pretty simple, but it’s important.

这听起来很简单，但这很重要。

So you need to see what the other ones are capable of doing if they’re used to being around people.”

所以你需要看看，如果其他动物习惯了周围的人，它们能做什么。”

McElligott says that the pouched marsupials offer up a whole new set of possibilities for understanding the evolution of social cognition.

麦克埃尔利格特表示，袋鼠为理解社会认知的发展提供了全新的可能性。

And he’s now turned his attention to yet another unexpected species: the Asian water buffalo.

现在，他把注意力转向了另一个意想不到的物种:亚洲水牛。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Jason Goldman.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是杰森·戈德曼。