评论
打印
The lion has long been regarded as the world's most fearsome terrestrial carnivore, but the "king of beasts" has been toppled by humans, new research shows.
长期以来，狮子一直被认为是世界上最可怕的陆生食肉动物，但一项新研究显示，其“百兽之王”的地位已被人类取代。
Elephants, rhinos and giraffes are all now more afraid of people than other apex predators, according to a scientific paper that supports the idea that humans are the world's "super predator".
一篇支持人类是这个世界上的“超级捕食者”观点的科学论文称，相比其他顶级捕食者，大象、犀牛和长颈鹿现在更害怕人类。
Wild animals are twice as likely to run away, and abandon waterholes 40% faster when they hear the sound of people talking,
当听到人类说话的声音时，野生动物们逃跑的几率是听到别的声音的两倍，而离开水坑的速度也要快40%，
according to researchers working in South Africa's Greater Kruger national park, home of the largest remaining lion populations.
这是在南非大克鲁格国家公园工作的研究人员透露的，该公园是世界上现存狮子数量最多的地方。
Running away or abandoning the waterhole was a response seen in 95% of species, which included giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras, kudu, warthog and impala.
95%的物种--包括长颈鹿、豹子、鬣狗、斑马、羚羊、疣猪和黑斑羚--都会产生逃跑或放弃水坑的反应。
"Fear of humans significantly exceeded that of lions throughout the savanna mammal community," according to the paper, published in Current Biology.
“在整个热带草原哺乳动物群落中，对人类的恐惧大大超过了对狮子的恐惧，”这篇发表在《当代生物学》上的论文称。
Lead researcher Prof Liana Zanette, from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, said she was surprised by the magnitude of the response from wildlife, as well as the number of species affected.
加拿大西安大略大学的首席研究员利亚纳·扎内特教授表示，她对野生动物的反应以及受人类声音影响物种的数量感到惊讶。
"Lions should be the scariest thing out there -- but humans were much scarier. It shows we really are terrifying to animals," Zanette said.
“狮子才应该是这个世界上最可怕的东西，但人类更可怕。这表明动物对我们人类非常恐惧，”扎内特如是说。
She described the findings as "amazing, but depressing too".
她称这些发现“令人惊讶，但也令人沮丧”。
Fear itself can have enormous effects on animal populations: fleeing a perceived threat often comes at the expense of eating and staying in good condition.
恐惧本身会对动物种群产生巨大影响：逃离感知到的威胁往往是以牺牲进食和保持良好状态为代价的。
Surveys from Australia, North America, Europe and Asia have shown humans kill prey at higher rates than any other apex predator
来自澳大利亚、北美、欧洲和亚洲的调查显示，人类杀死猎物的速度比其他任何顶级捕食者都要快，
partly due to the adoption of guns, and hunting with dogs -- which is why they have gained the title of "super predator".
部分原因是人类会使用枪支，并会与狗一起狩猎--这就是人类获得“0超级捕食者”的称号的原因。
Research from other parts of the world has shown mountain lions, deer, kangaroos, wallabies and wild boar all fear humans more than other apex predators.
来自世界其他地区的研究表明，相比其他顶级食肉动物，美洲狮、鹿、袋鼠、小袋鼠和野猪更害怕人类。
"If the fear of humans is so pervasive, and happens to all animals out there on our planet, then it really adds a new dimension to the worldwide environmental impacts that humans might be having."
“如果对人类的恐惧是如此普遍，并且在我们星球上的所有动物身上都有所体现，那确实会为人类可能对全球环境造成的影响增加了一个新的视角。”
